Phantom Liberty players think they've found a tease for Cyberpunk 2077's sequel – a fight with rogue AI
The Blackwall spells disaster
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty players think the DLC might point to the themes of the game's eventual sequel.
Be warned: here there are spoilers for both Cyberpunk 2077 and Phantom Liberty!
If you've completed Phantom Liberty, you'll know a big focus of the DLC's plot is the infamous 'Blackwall' and its AI algorithms. You'll also know that Songbird is in possession of some incredibly advanced Cyberware, and in contact (to a degree) with the Blackwall.
Apparently, Cyberpunk 2077's ending dialog can change depending on your actions near the end of Phantom Liberty. The player just below chose to aid Idris Elba's Solomon Reed, and fulfill Songbird's big request, and it allegedly resulted in the ending of the base game bringing to light the fact that the Blackwall is an encroaching threat for humanity, one that could break through in the future.
New Alt dialog following PL, thoughts? (The Star ending) from r/cyberpunkgame
The retooled ending makes it sound like the Blackwall will one day break through to the physical world. This could result in possessions of real people, and even objects, and it seems like the only thing stopping the Blackwall doing this right now is the fact that, in 2077, tech is still too "rudimentary" for the Blackwall to take advantage of it.
We already know a Cyberpunk 2077 sequel is in development, so players are now wondering if these comments point toward the themes of CD Projekt Red's upcoming game. "Yep, seems like she’s hinting that if cyberware gets too advanced (i.e. Songbird), Blackwall AI will be able to possess people like demons," writes one Reddit user. "Definitely a setup for Cyberpunk 2088 or something to that effect."
Another user posits that "cyberpsychosis" could even be a glimpse into this dark future. There's actually a Maelstrom Cyberpsycho in Cyberpunk 2077 that suffered as a result of trying to download an AI into their brain, so there's definitely the potential there for that sort of story in the future.
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Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty's own director is even heading up the sequel, so it stands to reason that the new game could pull from the expansion. It'd definitely make a lot of sense for this new dialog to set up the themes of the next game in some way, although considering Cyberpunk 2077's sequel probably hasn't even started development, who knows what final shape the game could take.
You can head over to our Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty endings guide for a look at how the ending of the expansion can change.
Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.