Cyberpunk 2077 will be getting a sequel at some point, and it's likely that CD Projekt Red will be taking a different approach to marketing this time around. Although the developer redeemed Cyberpunk 2077 through regular updates, free content drops, and the well-received Phantom Liberty DLC, gaming audiences may not be so quick to forget the over-promising, under-delivering fiasco that was its initial launch. Taking a page out of Dragon's Dogma 2's and Saints Row's playbooks might be a good, fun place to start the sequel.

Dragon's Dogma 2 released a character creator demo in early March that prospective players could download for free, leading to a slew of viral fan-made content. Something similar occurred with the ill-fated Saints Row reboot, and while that game didn't quite land the way Volition was hoping, the free character creator certainly helped with publicity and hype. Cyberpunk 2077's sequel, though wildly different from these two games, could benefit from a similar approach.

The 2022 Saints Row reboot isn't the first game in the series to have a demo of this kind; Saints Row 3 and Saints Row 4 also launched pre-release character creators.

Citizen Sleeper the Eye
Related
For Those Who Slept on It, Citizen Sleeper is a Great Substitute for Cyberpunk 2077

Anyone who loved the more cerebral science-fiction elements of Cyberpunk 2077 should check out Citizen Sleeper if they haven't already.

Why Cyberpunk 2077's Sequel Could Use a Character Creation Demo

Transparency Will Be Key to the Next Cyberpunk Game's Marketing

If all the viral character creations that came out of Dragon's Dogma 2's demo prove anything, it's that giving players the keys to a small portion of a game early can lead to significant marketing gains, increasing organic word-of-mouth promotion to a significant degree. In truth, most games with some sort of in-depth character customization could probably make use of this approach to marketing. It not only spreads awareness of the game pre-release, but also gets players hooked and excited to actually play as their avatar.

Cyberpunk 2077's sequel probably won't need too much publicity—visibility will likely be through the roof no matter what—but it will have to contend with the issue of credibility. Even at launch, Cyberpunk 2077 had a lot going for it, but its strengths were dwarfed by its myriad technical problems and performance issues, particularly on consoles, with the pre-release marketing simply not being representative of the final product. The game has come a long way since, but the stain of its obfuscated release and misleading marketing won't be washed away for a while. Launching some sort of demo ahead of the sequel, even if it's just a character creator, would be an act of good faith.

Cyberpunk 2077 Is Uniquely Suited to the Character Creation Demo

While fans can hope for a more comprehensive playable demo of Cyberpunk 2077's hotly anticipated sequel, the character creator on its own would still be valuable. Cyberpunk 2077's world is all about modification, with the genre's themes of transhumanism and invasive technological advancement shining through the varied and visually striking designs of V and the NPCs. It's appropriate, then, that players are given a wide range of options when it comes to customizing their player-character, able to go beyond the typical staples of hairstyle, complexion, et cetera, and add decidedly sci-fi implements like robotic eyeballs and various facial modifications. Even so, the game's character customization options arguably don't go far enough, as players can't truly make their protagonist look like the most outlandish, chromed-out NPCs scattered across Night City.

The next Cyberpunk 2077 can realize its RPG potential while pulling back the curtain on one of its most powerful role-playing features by releasing a character creator demo like Saints Row and Dragon's Dogma 2. This sort of pre-release marketing strategy could bolster public faith in the next Cyberpunk 2077 and give players a taste of what aesthetic and tonal secrets CD Projekt Red has up its sleeve.