All of the Phantom Liberty overhauls coming to Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is nearly upon us. The upcoming expansion for CD Projekt’s Red’s 2020 open-world action RPG is set to be released on Sept. 26. It promises not only a new campaign in a location called Dogtown (along with a new character played by Idris Elba named Solomon Reed), but also a slew of redesigns to the game’s core systems with Update 2.0. A new trailer unveiled at Gamescom 2023 this Tuesday shines more light on the latter additions to Cyberpunk 2077, including additional weapons, a fresh skill tree, and revamped vehicular combat.

What’s new in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty

The Gamescom 2023 trailer offered a look at several new weapons, including the “Osprey” and “Rasetsu” sniper rifles, a shiny red katana, a new flamethrower weapon dubbed the “Hercules,” and a new category of “illegal” modified weapons including shotguns, handguns, and submachine guns.

Image: CD Projekt Red

Aside from the new story campaign and weapons, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty will launch alongside Update 2.0, which will introduce a free overhaul of the game’s core mechanics, regardless of whether you buy Phantom Liberty or not. Said overhauls include a new cyberware system, which correlates V’s armor stats to your equipped cyberware rather than your clothing. This offers a greater degree of expression alongside stat-based boosts and debuffs depending on your layout; a new perks system that introduces the ability to deflect bullets, dash in mid-air, and a variety of finishing moves; and an all-new skill tree associated with the Relic chip embedded in V’s body, which only further supercharges your various abilities.

Image: CD Projekt Red

Another welcome addition featured in the trailer is the introduction of a brand-new vehicular combat system, allowing V to ride shotgun and hack nearby vehicles while in-transit to inflict carnage on any would-be assailants. The introduction of vehicular combat comes with an overhaul to the game’s “wanted” system, allowing various tiers of the NCPD to give chase until they finally throw the big guns at you: The heavily-armored and highly lethal MaxTac Psycho Squad.

When news first broke that Phantom Liberty would be the first and only planned expansion for Cyberpunk 2077, it was a disappointment to many fans of the game — including myself. Having a deeper understanding of how how Phantom Liberty will expand and fundamentally reshape the game, however, makes it clearer why CD Projekt Red is putting this much time into one expansion before moving on to the future of the franchise.

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty and Update 2.0 will be released on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Windows PC on Sept. 26.