Developer CD Projekt Red has been on quite the journey with Cyberpunk 2077. Originally released in December 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the game failed to live up to its lofty ambitions at launch and was littered with a variety of glaring bugs and glitches. Despite the disastrous start, though, Cyberpunk 2077 is now a much better game that more closely aligns with CD Projekt Red's original vision. A sequel, code-named Project Orion, is in the works, and will likely introduce more crazy futuristic concepts like the cybernetic implants that dominated the first game.
Back in October 2022, CD Projekt Red announced an impressive four games currently in development, currently known as projects Orion, Hadar, Canis, and Sirius. Aside from this, no details about Project Orion are known yet. It is unlikely that Project Orion will see the light of day anytime soon, especially considering the developer's previous poor experience with Cyberpunk 2077's launch. This gives fans plenty of time to speculate on what the game will be about, and the new ideas and concepts it might introduce. A popular narrative mechanic, one that regularly pops up in games set in the future, has not been explored in Cyberpunk 2077's world yet: time travel.
Cyberpunk 2077's Sequel Could Explore Time Travel Elements
Cyberpunk 2077 takes place in the New United States, an alternative version of the USA over 50 years into the future. Technology has advanced in some pretty incredible ways, and most humans have found ways to upgrade themselves by visiting shady doctors and undergoing dangerous medical procedures.
These doctors, known in Cyberpunk 2077 as Ripperdocs, are able to fit and attach a wide range of upgrades, usually granting the user life-altering abilities like enhanced strength or the ability to jump large distances. It isn't a huge stretch to imagine these Ripperdocs successfully discovering time travel, and this would open up a wealth of narrative possibilities for Project Orion.
Given the decrepit state of the New United States in Cyberpunk 2077's universe, it makes sense that, should time travel be possible, someone would want to attempt to change how things played out. In this timeline, a small nuclear explosion in 1993, coupled with a stock market crash in 1994, set in motion a chain of events that eventually led to the formation of the New United States. Transporting back to this period, and attempting to stop the nuclear bomb from detonating by any means necessary, could provide an interesting backdrop for the sequel's narrative.
Project Orion isn't the only Cyberpunk 2077 project on the way, with its Phantom Liberty DLC also in development. Featuring a brand-new area of Night City to explore, and a shady new character played by Idris Elba, the expansion is slated to release sometime in 2023. Both protagonist V and Keanu Reeves' Johnny Silverhand are set to return, but it is unknown if this project will serve to lead into the full-blown sequel, or if Project Orion will feature a completely new setting and characters.
Whichever way the sequel goes, CD Projekt Red has begun to salvage its reputation, which was undoubtedly damaged after the first game's launch. For the most part, fans have enjoyed their time with Cyberpunk 2077 and will no doubt be eagerly awaiting more news on the sequel.
With the Polish developer currently having so many irons in the fire though, further news on Project Orion is unlikely to come anytime soon, and fans will need to be patient. Thankfully, Phantom Liberty should arrive much sooner, so it hopefully won't be too long before players can return to Cyberpunk 2077's Night City.
Cyberpunk 2077's sequel, code-named Project Orion, is in development.
