CD Projekt's eagerly awaited sequel to Cyberpunk 2077, codenamed Project Orion, remains shrouded in mystery, yet Cyberpunk creator Mike Pondsmith has recently shared tantalizing new details. Pondsmith, who was deeply involved in the development and promotion of the original Cyberpunk 2077, which sold over 30 million copies, provided insights into his role with Project Orion at the Digital Dragons 2025 conference.
Although Pondsmith admitted to a lesser involvement this time around, he still plays a crucial role by reviewing scripts and visiting CD Projekt to observe the ongoing development. During a recent visit, he shared, "Last week I was wandering around talking to different departments, and seeing what they had, 'Oh look, this is the new cyberware, what do you think?' 'Oh yeah, that’s pretty good, that works here.'"
A particularly intriguing detail Pondsmith revealed is that Project Orion will introduce a brand new city alongside the familiar Night City from Cyberpunk 2077. Describing this new locale, Pondsmith likened it to "Chicago gone wrong." He elaborated on his interaction with the environment team, "I spent a lot of time talking to one of the environment guys, and he was explaining how the new place in Orion, because there’s another city we visit — I’m not telling you any more than that but there’s another city we visit. And Night City is still there. But I remember looking at it and going, yeah I understand the feel you’re going for this, and this really does work. And it doesn’t feel like Blade Runner, it feels more like Chicago gone wrong. I said, ‘Yeah, I can see this working.’"
It's important to clarify that Pondsmith’s comments suggest a city with a dystopian Chicago-esque vibe rather than an actual future version of Chicago. The nature of the sequel's setting, whether it expands upon or reimagines Night City, remains uncertain. However, there is growing speculation that Project Orion might feature two fully explorable cities.
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While CD Projekt is currently focused on The Witcher 4, they have established a new studio in Boston dedicated to Project Orion. Earlier this year, it was reported that 84 out of CD Projekt's 707 employees were working on Project Orion, which is still in the concept phase. Given its early stage, significant changes could occur, and fans should not expect the game to be released soon.
In addition to Project Orion, CD Projekt is expanding the Cyberpunk universe with a new animation project on Netflix, following the success of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. In the nearer future, Cyberpunk 2077 is set to launch on the Nintendo Switch 2, bringing the dystopian adventure to a new platform.
