The creator of the original Cyberpunk tabletop RPG has spilled more details on Cyberpunk 2077’s sequel.
The sequel to Cyberpunk 2077, currently known only as Project Orion, will feature a second city for players to visit on top of Night City, according to Mike Pondsmith, the creator of the original Cyberpunk tabletop RPG. Pondsmith described the unnamed city as “Chicago gone wrong” during an interview with TVGRY at a Digital Dragons conference.
Project Orion does not have a release date yet.
Cyberpunk 2077 will feature a second city on top of Night City
During a recent interview, the creator of the tabletop RPG that Cyberpunk 2077 is based on, Mike Pondsmith, described a visit to CD Projekt Red’s studio. Pondsmith stated that he was “not as involved directly” with development on the sequel to Cyberpunk 2077.
However, he is clearly still involved in the production of the sequel in some capacity, given that he described seeing “the scripts” for the game. In the interview, he also mentioned “wandering around, talking to different departments” within CD Projekt Red to “see what they had.”
While talking to “one of the environment guys,” he spoke about “a new place in Orion.” He described it as being “another city we visit,” although “Night City is still there.” Pondsmith also claimed that “it doesn’t feel like Blade Runner. It feels more like Chicago gone wrong.” He then stated his approval of the new location.
In Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, Chicago is officially connected to Night City via the Maglev Network. However, in-universe, the city has gone through a series of disasters inclusive of a biological plague. There’s a strong chance that the city Pondsmith mentions is Chicago itself, or some remade version of the city that has risen from its own ashes.
Until Project Orion is officially revealed, we can only speculate. For now, CD Projekt Red has its hands full with development on The Witcher IV.