Summary

Cyberpunk 2077tackled some important societal issues when the game launched all the way back in December 2020. Deep beyond Keanu Reeves' Johnny Silverhand and the world of Night City was some serious commentary about wealth inequality, crime, homelessness and technology. Perhaps it wasn’t nearly as clear as it could’ve been, but it was there nonetheless.

That said,CD Projekt Red, the Polish video game developer and publisher, revealed that it didn’t go deep enough with its tackling of societal issues. In fact, the studio believes that it could’ve gone deeper and pushed the envelope further. So,with a planned sequel to Cyberpunk in the works, which is codenamed Project Orion, CDPR plans to do just that.

Cyberpunk Devs “Just Touched The Surface” In 2077

In a new episode of the AnsweRED Podcast, CD Projekt Red developers revealed some of the shortcomings of 2077 when it comes to social commentary and how that will be rectified moving forward.

“I see that we didn’t push the envelope far enough in some places, for instance,” associate game director Paweł Sasko said (hat tipto IGN for the transcription). “Like, let’s say, the homeless crisis. When I look at it, I’m like, ‘We weren’t far enough in ‘[Cyberpunk 2077.'] We thought that we were dystopian, but we just touched the surface.”

And so, with Project Orion in development, CDPR plans to play things differently. That sentiment was echoed by Dan Hernberg, who was in agreement with Sasko. He said, “I think, for me, that’s what Cyberpunk is about, exploring those themes but in a very poignant way. I love the world, and I think that’s what we’re going to try to do with Project Orion. Really continue to lean into that and continue to say, ‘What is [the state of the world] today,’ and what does it look like in a couple of years.”

To that end,CDPR announced that it had created a new studio in Boston, Massachusetts, where Project Orion is under development. Theoriginal Cyberpunk’s Night City was set in California with inspiration from the likes of Los Angeles and San Francisco. So it would make sense that, to accurately portray the state of America, they would need to have a studio in the States, where developers can engross themselves even further.

Either way, it looks like CDPR is ready to craft another richly detailed world with its sequel. And based off how Cyberpunk turned out after all of its patches and DLC, it’ll be well worth the wait.