Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty PS5 PlayStation

Cyberpunk 2077's impending Phantom Liberty expansion (launching on PS5 on 26th September) is much more than simple DLC, instead being an overhaul of virtually every inch of Night City. It goes far beyond the scope of what some might expect and is a true expansion, according to comments made by creative director Pawel Sasko at Summer Game Fest.

Speaking with VGC, Sasko describes the ways in which "all the core main systems" have received updates or revisions, stating: "The biggest ones are the perks and skill trees, which have been rebuilt completely. We’ve added vehicle combat which enables new car chases. We’ve also greatly expanded AI and completely redone the police system, which is rebuilt from the ground up and now has multiple levels with multiple archetypes of enemies who will chase you – it’s also different in Dog Town compared to Night City."

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It sounds ambitious, to say the least, and only just the tip of the iceberg. Sasko elaborates, explaining: "We’ve also redone the loop and whole progression of the game – the difficulty curve is different, the tiers and drops of loot are different, the archetypes of enemies have been redone for more variety. There are very few systems that we didn’t change or update. Even the UI and UX have been greatly updated."

Considering the lessons learned we learned with the launch of the base game, we might reserve judgement until previews start to drop. And yet, if they can pull it off, CD Projekt stands to regain some further measure of goodwill with the audience, with the intention being of bringing some enhancements to players of the base game alone.

Sasko sets expectations appropriately, explaining: "[Original game owners] will get some of the new features… we’re still discussing how that’s going to work, and when it’s going to be, and how to solve it. Our goal is to provide them to players of the base game as well. The core systems should be there – that’s our intention."

At a decently hefty £24.99 / $29.99, Phantom Liberty will supposedly be the largest (in terms of budget, and not necessarily content) post-launch release developer CD Projekt Red has ever attempted, outspending even The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's monstrous Blood and Wine.

Are you excited about Phantom Liberty? Or will you wait until after launch to see how things shake out? Let us know in the comments section below.

[source cyberpunk.net]