Cyberpunk 2077 is loaded with a bunch of replayability elements, thanks to the game's various life paths, dialogue options, romance options, builds, and more. CD Projekt Red's popular role-playing game gives players many reasons to revisit Night City. Now, if you're wondering why the game never received a New Game Plus mode, you may want to hear the explanation from Cyberpunk 2077's lead quest designer, Pawel Sasko.
For those who might not be familiar, New Game Plus is a mode that's usually unlocked at the end of a campaign, and it has become quite popular in games such as Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Elden Ring, and Starfield. The mode, which varies from game to game, allows for replayability without having to completely start over from scratch. One of CD Projekt Red's other titles, The Witcher 3, also added the New Game Plus mode, so why did Cyberpunk 2077 not get it?
Why Cyberpunk 2077 doesn't have New Game Plus
During a recent interview with DualShockers, Sasko, who's now the associate game director, was asked why Cyberpunk 2077 never received a New Game Plus mode. The lead quest designer explained that the lack of New Game Plus mode came down to the game's core design, and that those within CD Projekt Red never once considered incorporating the mode when developing Cyberpunk 2077. Adding the New Game Plus mode at this point in time would require major overhauls to the structure of the game.
"For us, it's really important that when you have components in a game, they all work together and they all work well and they all make sense," Sasko explained. "The thing is, Cyberpunk is very specific when it comes to its construction. [...] "It's incredibly difficult to figure out a way where New Game+ could be done in a way that doesn't completely break the way the game is constructed."
Sasko went on to explain how the game was "designed to be replayed", which was one of the reasons for the the lack of New Game Plus. "It’s to be replayed. It’s to try different life paths, try different romances, try different builds," Sasko clarified. "There’s so many things that you can at least, twice or three times, have a very varied experience in 2077. So this is another answer, the game was built to be replayed that way."
CD Projekt recently announced that it had finally wrapped up development on Cyberpunk 2077 and had shifted focus on other projects. After all, the company already started development for the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel, currently titled Project Orion, back in February 2024. However, the game is still on its early stages, so it'll likely be a while before we get any new information about it.
