The developers of Cyberpunk's massive 2.0 update released last year alongside its Phantom Liberty DLC, greatly changing its gameplay mechanics and methods of progression. The game received further expansion in update 2.1 in December of that year, since which it's remained mostly the same - until the surprise announcement of update 2.2 in a live REDStreams broadcast today.
Cyberpunk version 2.2, developed in conjunction with Virtuos, will add several features to the game, including expanded customization for cars, expanded photo mode options, character creator adjustments, and additional NPC interactions. For the full details, see the recording of the livestream below, check out the patch notes on Cyberpunk 2077's official website, or read on.
Version 2.2 will be available today, December 10, 2024. Players can it via their preferred storefronts just a few minutes after the livestream.
Everything In Cyberpunk 2077's Version 2.2 Update
Customization, Photo Mode, & More
Cyberpunk version 2.2 will bring sweeping changes to the inner (and outer) workings of cars. First and foremost, player options for customizing their cars have expanded, with the CrystalCoat mechanic for changing paint colors coming to vehicles of various brands (previously limited to Rayfield cars). Players can also now "steal" the paint coats of oncoming cars using the scanner, allowing them to change their cars' colors on the fly.
If you change your car's paint color while out of sight, it may help you evade the police.
For a more immersive experience while driving, Johnny Silverhand will occasionally spawn next to V in the enger or back seat of their car. Johnny will spawn occasionally and at random, whenever V isn't in the middle of a pivotal mission or combat encounter. He'll comment on V's driving, give directions, or just make little quips as they drive around Night City. The goal here, according to the developers, is to increase immersion; Johnny is ostensibly with V throughout much of the game's story, so it only makes sense for him to appear more often outside pivotal story moments.
Cyberpunk 2077's Most Immersion-Breaking Feature Could Become A Game-Changing Mechanic In The Sequel
Cyberpunk 2077 has one big immersion-breaking feature, but the problem could very easily be transformed into an incredible mechanic in the sequel.
In addition, Cyberpunk's photo mode has received some significant revamping. Players will find they can move the camera around more freely, using a sort of "drone mode" to travel farther and create unique angles. They can turn collision off to take photos around in-game objects or NPCs that may have otherwise blocked the camera. Players can also adjust more detailed settings like contrast, exposure, and depth of field, while they summon and pose NPCs. Once they've taken a few photos, they'll be able to hang them up in their in-game apartments using digital frames.
Cyberpunk's character creator also has some new content worth exploring, including new assets for hair, nails, eyes, and cyberware. It all adds up to 112 new items in the character creator as of version 2.2. It also includes a new randomizer, which allows players to adjust the degree of randomization (from "Plain" to "Punk"). If they like certain aspects of their randomized character, they can use an array of checkboxes to "hold" them, keeping them the same while the randomizer changes everything else.
Our Take: Cyberpunk 2.2 Contains Lots Of Secrets
Get Searching
Some players found the version 2.2 livestream a little disappointing. The new content focused mainly on cosmetic improvements, and didn't add anything materially different to the game - or so it seemed. s like @AimBotThug on X (formerly Twitter) found the updates minimal, and undeserving of the outsize reaction they saw in the livestream's chat, believing it was populated by bots. To some extent, they have a point. New customization options aren't really the kind of expansive updates players have come to expect from major Cyberpunk updates, especially after the impossible standard set by 2.0.
But the most fun part of each successive Cyberpunk update is finding the secrets the developers choose not to talk about. During the livestream, developers talked about secrets they added in the previous update - little lore-relevant stickers that they claimed players have yet to find. They hinted at other little lore details, random visual changes, and Easter eggs hiding in the new version of the game already. Sure, I'll use CrystalCoat for a fresh new look, and I'll chuckle when Johnny becomes my backseat driver. But those new secrets are what I'm most excited to find in the new Cyberpunk 2077 update.
Sources: Cyberpunk 2077/YouTube, Cyberpunk 207, @AimBotThug/X
Cyberpunk 2077
-
- Top Critic Avg: 76/100 Critics Rec: 64%
- Released
- December 10, 2020
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs and Alcohol
- Developer(s)
- CD Projekt Red
- Publisher(s)
- CD Projekt Red
- Engine
- REDengine 4
- Cross-Platform Play
- ps, xbox, pc
- Cross Save
- yes
Based on the 1988 tabletop game, Cyberpunk 2077 is a first-person action RPG game set in a dystopian cyber future developed by CD Projekt Red. Players will tackle the streets of Night City as customizable protagonist V, who struggles to keep their memories intact after receiving a strange cybernetic implant that slowly overrides their memories by a deceased celebrity known as Johnny Silverhand, played by Keanu Reeves.
- Franchise
- Cyberpunk
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- yes
- Platform(s)
- PC
- How Long To Beat
- 25 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- Metascore
- 75
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
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