The world of Cyberpunk is vast. Since the series was created in 1988 as a pen-and-paper RPG series, the franchise has spawned numerous sequels and spin-offs. After a lengthy hiatus following the 1990 sequel, the series returned in 2019 with Cyberpunk RED, created to coincide with the 2020 release of Cyberpunk 2077, the open-world RPG video game from developer CD Projekt Red. These newer projects brought Cyberpunk's world into the mainstream, and have paved the way for future projects.
Given the scope of Cyberpunk 2077, it was perhaps inevitable that it would spawn spin-offs and other projects that take place in Night City. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, a ten-episode anime series that will debut on Netflix on September 13, is the first of these spin-offs. It promises to tell a standalone story that follows a street kid trying to survive in the technology and body-modification obsessed futuristic Night City. With confirmation that Cyberpunk: Edgerunners will be based within the same world and city as Cyberpunk 2077, fans of the first-person RPG will be keen to know what, if any, links will be present between the two.
Cyberpunk 2077's World is Vast
The hype surrounding Cyberpunk 2077's release was huge. Coming off The Witcher 3's critical and commercial success, CD Projekt Red was riding a fresh wave of optimism, and had made some incredibly ambitious promises regarding what gamers could expect from Cyberpunk 2077. While the now-infamous launch was something of an unmitigated disaster riddled with glitches, the developer has tried to fix the game over time through patches. Over time, that goal has gone some way to being achieved, and while it hasn't won everyone over, most critics and gamers agree that Cyberpunk 2077 is now a solid game with a lot to offer.
Whatever criticism was aimed at CD Projekt Red in the fallout of the disastrous launch, one thing that was never pulled into question was the amount of love and attention it had poured into the world of Night City. Its futuristic aesthetics, complete with body modification and netrunning, meant that Night City inevitably had many more stories to tell than one game could contain. Even with the promise that a Cyberpunk DLC expansion could be coming soon, it was hard to imagine Night City not being explored further through different mediums. Sure enough, as well as Cyberpunk 2077 comics, the anime series seems the next natural iteration for the franchise.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is the Next Step
There are many interesting and memorable characters from Cyberpunk 2077. From Keanu Reeves' wise-cracking, irrational, and fearless Johnny Silverhand, to the beautiful and talented Alt Cunningham, there is no shortage of characters who would probably fit seamlessly into the anime series. Given the confirmed cast of characters for Edgerunners though, and the absence of any known character names, it looks like the best that fans can hope for are some cameo appearances from some familiar faces.
The series will focus on six brand-new characters. The two main ones, David and Lucy, share no obvious connections with Cyberpunk 2077. Whether less obvious connections will surface over the course of the ten-episode series remains to be seen. Gamers can at least look forward to seeing some familiar locations recreated in anime form, and the likes of Santo Domingo and Watson are set to feature, as well as some standout locations from the game, such as the imposing Arasaka Tower, home to the Arasaka Corporation and the highly dysfunctional family that runs it. The show has been made to cater to fans of the game as well as people who have never played it, so while fans should expect some degree of fan service, that certainly won't be the main focus of the series by a long stretch.
Just how much the show will connect with the video game is up for debate right now, but it doesn't look like it will connect in a huge way, besides sharing the same world and city. Fortunately, fans of Cyberpunk 2077 won't have long to wait before they can find out.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
