Cyberpunk 2077 reveals Phantom Liberty, first major expansion set for 2023 release 

The most recent Night City Wire stream from CD PROJEKT RED revealed some fantastic new information concerning Cyberpunk 2077. Besides teasing the upcoming anime, and today’s patch notes, a major expansion was revealed for the AAA title. The teaser for the expansion, titled “Phantom Liberty” was brief, but several interesting aspects have been confirmed so far.

It will be released in 2023, but won't be available on last-gen consoles. The CD PROJEKT RED livestream confirmed that patch 1.6 will be the final last-gen update for the console world. Here's what is known about the game's upcoming expansion, "Phantom Liberty".

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Cyberpunk 2077’s first expansion reveals a new faction and return of Johnny Silverhand

During the most recent Night City Wire, CD PROJEKT RED made a number of announcements, but perhaps the biggest of all was that a major expansion was coming to the game. Titled “Phantom Liberty”, it marks the return of Johnny Silverhand, once again voiced by Keanu Reaves.

According to the developers during Night City Wire, it’s a “new style of plot”, not seen in Cyberpunk 2077, and will feature a whole new cast of characters. V is still a very clear part of it as their voice is heard in the trailer, as was Johnny Silverhand.

The game director also stated that it was going to be expanding an unnamed district in Night City, where the story is going to primarily take place. But perhaps the most interesting of all is that it features the New United States of America.

In Cyberpunk 2077, Night City’s full name is The Free City of Night City. In the Cyberpunk lore, there is also a political faction known as the New United States of America. Formed out of the ashes of the old United States of America, it boasts several political divisions and 51 states, as of 2020. By 2077, the New United States of America had not quite subdued all of the Free States.

Who is this mysterious woman, and what part does she play among the New United States of America? (Image via CD PROJEKT RED)

It’s unknown how much influence the politicians of the New United States of America will have, but it’s worth mentioning that during the teaser, V is heard taking an oath of loyalty to the NUSA. At the very end, it’s revealed that Johnny Silverhand is back in action, and tells V that taking that oath was a bad idea.

Unfortunately, there is no release date as of this writing, other than it arriving in 2023. Notably, 2023 is also the year that Johnny Silverhand nuked Arasaka Tower, which is a very interesting factoid about the Cyberpunk 2077 universe. The developers will no doubt have more to reveal about this expansion in the coming months.