Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is just around the bend. Last year CD Projekt RED stated categorically that they would be discussing this topic in June 2023. In addition, their company will participate in the forthcoming Summer Games Fest. They've dedicated a sizable portion of the crew to working on Phantom Liberty, Cyberpunk 2077's sole expansion, and have put a lot of time and energy into its development. As a result, CD Projekt RED is taking the approach of "under-promise, under-hype, and over-deliver" to capitalize on the positive reception Cyberpunk: Edgerunners has received. So, without getting too carried away, we've put together the possibilities that Phantom Liberty is more than just an expansion and the signs we have that this expansion will live up to our high hopes.

The fact that this expansion will be the costliest in CDPR's history suggests that Phantom Liberty may require a more substantial makeover than we anticipate. With only one expansion planned to be released for Cyberpunk 2077, it's a strong sign that we'll be getting a lot of new content when the expansion finally arrives later this year. Because, at least until Project Orio, there won't be a lot of chances to share Night City's tales. CDPR was vague as to whether they meant largest in terms of land area or total length. Given how packed Night City is, it's safe to assume that CDPR meant content length and depth to justify the budget.

Perhaps most significantly, Phantom Liberty is a next-gen exclusive, meaning that playing it may feel more like starting a brand-new game than adding on to an existing one. While this news may come as a shock to some, it is, in all honesty, how things should have been from the start. Given the scope of Cyberpunk 2077, forcing it onto systems that aren't capable of handling it is certain to fail. This means that the developers' vision for Cyberpunk 2077 can be more faithfully realized in a next-gen exclusive experience, as they won't have to squeeze the game within restrictive system requirements. This complete overhaul of the police and vehicle combat system is likely only possible since the game is a next-gen exclusive. We think we're in for some genuine substance from CDPR now that they're free from the last-gen, which is now 10 years old, as evidenced by some community-created mods for both systems.

If Phantom Liberty is universally praised, as The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's latest addition was, nostalgia bias will drive an image of Cyberpunk 2077 far more positive than it was at release, much as it was for The Witcher 3 after its first expansion. If the general opinion of the game can be improved after Edge Runners, it will be significantly improved with new content that demonstrates not only the current features but also the fixes that the developers have been working on, even after the vast majority of the player base has already left the game. Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty has been in production for a long time compared to other games that have already been released. Around three hundred and fifty people are involved in developing this new experience, representing a huge investment of CDPR resources. Considering that simply the whole development phase took over two years and consumed half of CD Project Red, this is a substantial expenditure with high stakes. 

We hope CDPR has taken the lessons from the launch of the game's core into account and will wait to release this expansion until it is completely polished. Seeing so much work put into an expansion this time gives us high hopes that they will provide something we will enjoy. We hope they have spent their time effectively, unencumbered by technical issues that could have otherwise ruined their enjoyment. The shift to a noirish spy thriller style has given us hope that the plot will be more sophisticated than the initial premise. We eagerly anticipate this month's revelations on Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty. Some have speculated that a shadow release may occur as early as the first week of June, although this would not provide much time for the marketing campaign to gain traction. This time around, CD Projekt RED would want a more focused advertising effort. Therefore, it seems August could be a good window for a release.
 

Azfar Rayan (@AzfarRayan)
Editor, NoobFeed