Cyberpunk 2077 will receive its first storied expansion somewhere in 2023 more than two years after its troubled release. That, however, could possibly be the only expansion planned for the game.
During a Q1 FY22 earnings call (via Reddit) earlier today, CD Projekt CEO Adam Kicinski stated that the upcoming “expansion is the last product based on REDengine and any further product will be on Unreal Engine”.
It should be noted that developer CD Projekt Red has begun working on a new game in The Witcher franchise. The new Witcher saga is being built on Unreal Engine 5 instead of REDengine which the developer used as its proprietary engine to power the previous Witcher trilogy.
CD Projekt Red and Epic Games have signed on a “multi-year strategic partnership” that will “tailor” Unreal Engine 5 for not only the new Witcher saga but also other projects for years to come.
Since Cyberpunk 2077 is running on REDengine 4, it would be unlikely for CD Projekt Red to invest that many resources to pump a second expansion using Unreal Engine 5. The upcoming 2023 expansion is hence the first and only expansion coming for Night City.
Cyberpunk 2077 was initially pegged to release at least two major expansions just like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Following its disastrous release, all plans for expansions were pushed ahead to give CD Projekt Red the time to fix the game.
The developer would later only confirm a single expansion taking its sole focus. Last month, however, quest director Pawel Sasko confirmed “working on expansions” which led players back to expecting two content expansions.
For what it is worth, Cyberpunk 2077 is in a much better state right now thanks to a slew of patches and updates. That missing second expansion pack will not stop you from spending hours and hours exploring every nook and cranny of Night City.
As for the upcoming expansion itself, hundreds of lines of dialogue were leaked earlier today to outline the entire plot including most of the side missions. Hence, keep an eye out for incoming spoilers.
