CD Projekt Red dropped a new trailer for Cyberpunk 2077 on December 10, marking exactly five years since the game’s controversial launch. The video is a retrospective highlighting key story moments and major characters from Night City.
The trailer showcases protagonist V, Johnny Silverhand, Jackie Welles, and sequences from both the main game and the Phantom Liberty expansion. Night City is a character in its own right, with V being just one of many legends the city has consumed.
This is purely a commemorative piece. CD Projekt isn’t announcing new DLC, gameplay updates, or expansions alongside the trailer. Phantom Liberty remains the only major expansion for Cyberpunk 2077, and the studio has stated the game is feature-complete.
Cyberpunk 2077 launched in December 2020 to massive technical problems, particularly on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Performance issues, crashes, and missing features led Sony to temporarily pull the game from the PlayStation Store. The launch became a cautionary tale about overpromising and underdelivering.
CD Projekt spent the next three years fixing the game. Patch 1.5 brought native current-gen versions with major performance improvements. Patch 2.0 in September 2023 overhauled core systems including perks, police AI, and cyberware mechanics.
Phantom Liberty launched alongside Patch 2.0 and received strong reviews. The spy-thriller expansion set in Dogtown introduced Idris Elba’s Solomon Reed and new endings that can fundamentally change V’s fate.
From disaster to destination
The anniversary trailer serves as a victory lap for a game that nearly destroyed CD Projekt’s reputation. It highlights what Cyberpunk 2077 is now rather than what it failed to be at launch. The studio has moved on to early development of a sequel codenamed Orion while continuing to sell the Ultimate Edition bundle.
Whether this represents redemption or just successful damage control depends on perspective. The game went from unplayable mess to respected action-RPG with strong story content. That journey took three years and one expansion. The City of Legends trailer is CDPR saying the work is done.
