Cyberpunk 2077's Phantom Liberty DLC will not only expand on V's story, but it will also expand on their eventual fate by adding a new ending to the game. Indubitably, the expansion - which is set to release on September 26, 2023 - will include an extensive story that dives into Phantom Liberty's own unique setting, exploring Pacifica's new sub-district Dogtown and the arcs of new characters like Idris Elba's Solomon Reed. However, on top of that, the DLC also looks like it'll give players the opportunity to rewrite the entire ending of the base game, if they choose.
CD Projekt Red has confirmed that Phantom Liberty will be Cyberpunk 2077's first and only expansion, but it won't be the last time that edgerunners visit the dystopian world. A sequel to Cyberpunk 2077, codenamed Project Orion, is in the works, and after the DLC is released, more focus and resources will be allocated to its development. While not much is known about CDPR's new project just yet, Cyberpunk 2 by sheer nature, and so its contents bear a lot of significance. Luckily, things are already looking promising for Phantom Liberty, thanks to some exciting details shared by the developer.
Phantom Liberty Will Add A New Ending To Cyberpunk 2077
While some edgerunners have had their speculations for some time now, CD Projekt Red has finally confirmed that Phantom Liberty will add a new ending to Cyberpunk 2077's base game. In an interview with WCCF Tech, Vice President and Game Director Gabe Amatangelo revealed that Phantom Liberty itself will branch off into multiple endings based on the player's decisions and actions - and depending on what ending they receive within the confines of the expansion, it'll be possible to unlock a brand-new, sixth ending in Cyberpunk 2077.
Unfortunately, Amatangelo remained tight-lipped about Phantom Liberty's story and what in particular might play a part in unlocking its various endings. However, he did disclose that the DLC will take place in the middle of the game, citing The Witcher 3's expansions as an example. According to Amatangelo, players will need to get to a certain point to unlock it, but once that requirement has been fulfilled, it'll be possible to "skip right to it." Knowing this, it's quite likely that the expansion will take place sometime in Act 2, after the Heist but before all of Cyberpunk 2077's current endings.
Phantom Liberty's Ending Might See V Get Cured
While CDPR remains secretive about the expansion's narrative (understandably so), one particularly strong possibility for Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty's new ending recently made itself apparent. In Phantom Liberty's new official trailer - which premiered live at June's Xbox Showcase, and can now be viewed on the Songbird in Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty points to her being a powerful character that's not to be messed with; she's the personal Netrunner for the President of the NUSA, and as such, she's fiercely talented and loyal.
However, it's Songbird's dialogue to V in the trailer that's particularly worth noting. Over a holocall, the pink-haired hacker can be heard telling V that she's aware of the "bomb ticking in [their] head," and in a later shot, V is telling Idris Elba's Solomon Reed about the cure that Songbird has promised them. Of course, the validity and true intentions behind Songbird's offer remain to be seen - but given that almost the entire plot of Cyberpunk 2077 revolves around trying to remove the Relic from V's head, it's hard to deny that Songbird's promise could be absolutely game-changing.
Songbird isn't the first person to ensure a cure for the Relic; Anders Hellman believed that he could do the job, and in Cyberpunk 2077's Devil ending, Arasaka doctors can actually remove the chip from the protagonist's head (albeit unsuccessfully). However, Songbird already has better credentials than both Hellman and Araska. In a previous Phantom Liberty teaser, ed to the Cyberpunk 2077 YouTube channel, she can actually be seen front-and-center, glitching in and out of reality similar to Johnny Silverhand. This suggests that Songbird is actually an engram herself, which would explain her seemingly extensive knowledge of the Relic.
How Phantom Liberty's Ending Could Set Up Cyberpunk 2
If Songbird can really cure V in Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty's new ending, it would have massive implications for Cyberpunk's overarching plot. It can certainly be argued with some valid points that curing V wouldn't be necessarily be a "happy" ending in Cyberpunk 2077, and that it would change the grim, pessimistic premise of the RPG's story - but it's safe to say that some fans would be drawn to the cure nonetheless. At the end of the day, plenty of players have grown attached to V, and they would like to see them live through the tragedy that befell them, even at the expense of Silverhand.
Plus, V surviving in Phantom Liberty's ending would give Cyberpunk 2 the chance to be a direct sequel to Cyberpunk 2077, exploring the Night City merc's story a few months or years down the line. Indeed, there are plenty of directions that the next game could head in, considering the expansive lore behind the Cyberpunk universe. But at the same time, a continuation of the protagonist's story could prove to be a greatly emotional concept, since players are already so familiar with V's life. For instance, seeing them finally dismantle Arasaka à la Johnny, or become the next big fixer, could bring things full circle in a satisfying way.
Until the expansion releases on September 26, players can only theorize about what Phantom Liberty's new ending for Cyberpunk 2077 will entail. All signs so far point to a cure for V, but it's possible that Songbird's promise could be yet another lie in the DLC's spy-thriller story (or simply a red herring from CD Projekt Red). Regardless of what adventures await edgerunners in Phantom Liberty, though, it's clear that they'll play an important role in Cyberpunk 2077 and the franchise as a whole.
