After weeks of hints and teases, CD Projekt RED reveals a brand-new trailer for Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty and finally gives it a firm launch date later this year. After one of the worst launches in video game history, Cyberpunk 2077 has seen a renaissance of sorts thanks to plenty of updates, which evolved and transformed the game into what the studio likely envisioned. The turnaround not only brought in more players, but strong word of mouth helped fuel CD Projekt RED's best financial quarter ever back in Q3 2022.
The game's meteoric rise propelled CD Projekt RED to continue development within the franchise, confirming a sequel as well as a new expansion. Phantom Liberty was originally announced at The Game Awards 2022, revealing actor Idris Elba as a major character that players would be interacting with. As excited as fans were, CD Projekt RED soon went dark, opting to keep developer heads down instead of talking about the experience. Thankfully, it appears that development time has paid off as Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty finally has a launch date.
During the Xbox Showcase Event, Keanu Reeves once again took the stage to introduce the latest trailer for Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty. The footage provided a bit more context as to why V joins up with the President in a new location called Dogtown. With a promise to save V's life if they work with the NUSA to save the President, things quickly turn due to treason, betrayals, and espionage. With a race against the clock, V attempts to fulfill the mission with a little help from possible allies like Solomon Reed, played by Idris Elba.
The trailer also finally confirms the expansion's launch date, something which has been speculated about often by players. Thankfully, fans now know that they'll be able to jump back into Cyberpunk 2077 starting on September 26, 2023. However, if recent hints are to be believed, fans may be getting a hands-on preview of Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty much sooner. As for now, details are a bit scarce on what this means.
With the release date finally confirmed, it's likely that fans will be getting more frequent updates prior to launch. With Phantom Liberty dropping the older PS4 and Xbox One platforms, CD Projekt RED has been able to push the experience a bit more both in the visual design as well as gameplay mechanics. CDPR also confirmed that Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty also has the highest budget that any production has had, which could prove interesting once the experience finally arrives.
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty launches on September 26, 2023 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
