Despite its flaws in terms of performance, Cyberpunk 2077 is still an incredibly in-depth RPG with an entire back-story and universe. This is in large part due to the game being based upon the pen-and-paper RPG series simply known as Cyberpunk. Over the past three decades, this series has been able to expand and flesh out nearly every aspect of its intricately designed world of Night City. One of the most interesting parts of Cyberpunk 2077 is its many corporations and the role they play in shaping the game's setting. These corps become inescapable after spending some time in Night City, and the player will quickly realize just how prevalent they are.
Upon starting a new character in Cyberpunk 2077, players must choose one of three life paths. These act as a backstory to the player character, V, as well as allowing for unique dialogue options based upon the chosen path. The Cyberpunk 2077 lifepaths are Streetkid, Nomad, and Corpo. The latter of these sees V begin the game in the counterintelligence sector of Arasaka, one of the largest corporations in the game. There are many other sections of the game that display the cutthroat world of corporations, but the Corpo lifepath does it best.
Corporations in Cyberpunk
The corporations in the Cyberpunk universe act very differently from their real-life counterparts. There are many different kinds of corporations ranging from agriculture to media to banking, and, of course, armed forces and manufacturing. The corporate-dominated world began after the market collapse in the early 90s. The corporations that did survive, such as Arasaka, grew to incredible sizes and bought out many of the smaller ones. Now, in Cyberpunk 2077,corporations like Arasaka are present in nearly every aspect of one's life. They control the airwaves, and everything in V's apartment was manufactured from one of these corporations. Even the player's body isn't safe from corporate influence, as every possible body modification is attached to a megacorp.
That aforementioned market collapse not only strengthened certain corporations, but also weakened Democracy across the globe. Nearly every politician is on the payroll of one or more corporations, essentially making them independent nations. This is best seen in Night City, which was funded and created by the corporations, though mainly Arasaka, as a place where they could act without repercussions. The CEOs and executives live atop highrises and use anti-aging technology, while everyone else struggles to survive on the neon-clad streets. In short, these businesses put profit and power above everything else, especially the human lives that they see as just another tool.
Those employed by corporations such as Corpo V often commit espionage and special operations in order to gain an advantage over their competitors. However, these businesses have gone even farther than that in Cyberpunk's lore, starting not one, but four different Corporate Wars. These large-scale conflicts were typically the results of failed espionage, kidnapping, and disputes over resources. Though major details of the fourth war are unknown, it's said to have taken place between megacorps Arasaka and Militech, two names that should be very familiar to gamers that played Cyberpunk 2077​​​​​.
The corporations of the Cyberpunk universe are one of the most important aspects of the series' world-building. After a series of global events, a small handful of these megacorps now dominate every facet of people's lives. While it is undoubtedly bad on the outside of these corporations who just view people as money, it may be even worse inside. After all, the player character of Cyberpunk 2077 gets the brief chance to see the constant back-stabbing and espionage up close before being ousted from Arasaka.
Cyberpunk 2077 is out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One with next-gen versions in development.
