When CD Projekt Red reintroduced Cyberpunk 2077 to the gaming industry at E3 2018, it did so with a trailer that opened on the image of Night City’s convoluted subway system. Now, half a decade removed from that iconic moment (not to mention three years after the game’s rocky launch), the studio is finally ready to add an honest-to-goodness metro to its game’s gritty, neon-soaked setting.
Cyberpunk 2077’s Dec. 5 update will add 19 fully functional Night City Area Rapid Transit (NCART) stations across five lines, at which players will be able to hop onto and experience the game’s expansive metropolis from the claustrophobic confines of a metro train. The game already uses a handful of NCART stops as fast travel points, but Cyberpunk 2077 quest director Paweł Sasko explained during a recent livestream that the studio’s environmental art and open world teams have rebuilt several existing locations to expand their functionality.
Much like in real life, players will need to transfer between lines depending on where they’re going. It’s also possible to fast-forward through the trip with a simple button press. And while the metro sounds more like a world-building, mood-setting experience than anything else, it’s clear players won’t just be sitting around and taking in the sights while they wait for their stop. A short video shown during the same livestream featured what appears to be conversations with fellow riders, and there may even be some secret events waiting for diligent subway passengers.
“We’ve hidden some small things there,” Sasko said, “so I hope you have fun riding the metro around.”
Additional features coming next week include the ability to listen to the radio on foot, new opportunities to hang out with Cyberpunk 2077’s various romantic partners (like inviting them back to V’s apartment for “some quality time”), additional chases and replayable car races that unlock new vehicle-based rewards, a bunch of long-awaited accessibility options, and improved boss fights.
The hulking Adam Smasher, for instance, will now be equipped with his very own Sandevistan, a reflex- and speed-enhancing operating system fans may remember protagonist David Martinez utilizing in the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners animated spin-off series.
Cyberpunk 2077 lorehounds will also want to check out a new series on the game’s official YouTube channel, called Night City Archives.
The three short videos released thus far cover topics such as the iconic burg’s founding, how the rest of the United States fared amidst Arasaka and Militech’s all-out corporate warfare, and the development of Night City district Dogtown under Kurt Hansen, military defector and antagonist of the Phantom Liberty expansion.