Many are indubitably looking forward to Cyberpunk 2077 as one of the most anticipated games set to be released in 2020. The world of CD Projekt Red’s upcoming game is very different from the real world and diverges from the timeline far before the current year.

Many fans will likely need to be caught up on the events that take place in the Cyberpunk 2077 universe between 2020 and 2077 to understand the full context of Night City in 2077, including the many new nations of North America, the megacorporations, and how Night City came to be an independent city state.

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Cyberpunk 2020 - 2050

Cyberpunk 2077 poll on lifepaths

Cyberpunk 2020, a pen and paper RPG first released in 1990, established that the Cyberpunk timeline also diverges from the present as well as the future. In the Cyberpunk's world, the year 2020 is already more similar to the world of 2077 than it is to modern-day 2020. Night City is already established and exists within the Free State of California, which established independence in 2002.

It is not until the Unification War of 2069 between the New United States and the allied Free States that Northern California, including Night City, splits from the south of the state which supports the NUSA. After the war, the city emerges an a totally independent city state, though at the cost of far greater influence from the Arasaka megacorporation.

The Nomads, one of the available Life Path options in Cyberpunk 2077, are in the process of recovering from an event called The Long Walk. This took place after over a million American Nomads were hired and then abandoned as contractors in South America. By 2020, the Seven Nomad Nations are just 3 years old, having been established to protect themselves after the events of their recent history.

In 2023, international trade breaks down and a nuclear device is donated in the Arasaka Towers, killing half a million people in the initial blast and another quarter million in the aftermath in an event that becomes known as the Night City Holocaust. The Arasaka megacorporation's mercenaries are then expelled from the US. Later that year, particles polluting the atmosphere turn it red for two years, known as the Time of the Red.

The following decade sees the US under a dictatorship as President Elizabeth Kress declares a state of emergency. In the early 2030s, rumors begin to spread that Johnny Silverhand’s body has been found in cold storage in the ruins of Old Night City as the city is excavated in preparation for the rebuilding process.

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Cyberpunk 2050 - 2077

cyberpunk 2077 keanu reeves

In December 2054, the main character of Cyberpunk 2077, V, is born, putting them around 22 years old during the events of the upcoming game. In 2060, Lucius Rhyne is elected to the notoriously corrupt Night City council.

In 2062, the nation of Haiti is abandoned due to tropical storms, causing a wave of refugees to Night City, and also leading to the establishment of the Voodoo Boys gang in the city. In 2070, the Unification War ends and Arasaka is invited back to Night City. During the war itself, Night City avoided any actual fighting thanks to the Arasaka intervention organized by Lucius Rhyne, who by 2077 is the mayor.

By 2077. not only does Arasaka have a tight grip on Night City, but the Executive Vice-President of the rival Militech Arms Corporation, Antonio Luccessi, dies at age 116. This is a significant retcon from previous games in the Cyberpunk series, where he was established to be born in 1935 rather than 1961, and likely means his death will have significant repercussions for the balance of power in Night City as seen in the game. Long-time fans of the series will likely be interested to see how the long-term consequences of the events of the 21st century play out in Cyberpunk 2077.

Cyberpunk 2077 is set to launch on November 19, 2020, for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One, and will release later for the PS5 and Xbox Series X.

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