Phantom Liberty Looks Like the Cyberpunk 2077 CD Projekt Pitched From the Start

ign.com:

CD Projekt is launching its Cyberpunk 2077 expansion Phantom Liberty this September, but alongside a chunk of new story content and an extension of the map, it's also revamping a ton of mechanics from the base game.

These changes, which include a completely rebuilt police system, brand new skill trees, and more, look to bring Cyberpunk up to what CD Projekt initially pitched for the game at its famous reveal in 2018.

An update, presumably version 1.7, will launch around the same time as Phantom Liberty (though no earlier than September 9) and include these changes to the base game, though it's currently unclear just how many of them will be free for all Cyberpunk 2077 players and how many will be locked behind the $30 / £25 expansion.

CD Projekt told VGC that "all the core, main systems" of Cyberpunk 2077 have been "redone or updated in a major way", adding that "there are very few systems that we didn't change or update".

This includes how progression and difficulty works in the game. "The difficulty curve is different, the tiers and drops of loot is different, the archetypes of enemies have been redone for more variety," CD Projekt added.

New quest types called Airdrops are also joining the base game, and these are designed to be infinitely replayable. "You'll see red smoke going up in the air and you have to get to that location really quickly," IGN said in our hands-on preview. "There's some really coveted items often at those locations."

Perhaps the biggest change coming is in the "rebuilt from the ground up" police system. As reported by GameSpot, police will investigate crimes on an individual basis, depending on where the player is and what illegal actions they commit.

Killing someone in the middle of a desert should