"Project Orion: Night City and a 'Chicago Gone Wrong' Revealed by Mike Pondsmith"

CD Projekt's sequel to Cyberpunk 2077, codenamed Project Orion, remains a closely guarded secret, yet Cyberpunk creator Mike Pondsmith has tantalized fans with some previously undisclosed details. Pondsmith, who collaborated closely with CD Projekt on the blockbuster Cyberpunk 2077 and was instrumental in its promotion before the 2020 launch, shared insights about his involvement with Project Orion at the Digital Dragons 2025 conference.

Although Pondsmith clarified that his involvement this time is less intensive, he still reviews scripts and visited CD Projekt to assess the ongoing development. He recounted his recent visit, saying, "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.'"

Pondsmith then shared an intriguing detail about the sequel: it will feature a brand new city in addition to the familiar Night City from Cyberpunk 2077. He described this new city as "like Chicago gone wrong." He elaborated, "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 note that Pondsmith's comments imply a city with a dystopian vibe akin to Chicago, not necessarily a future version of Chicago itself. While there's speculation about whether the sequel will expand on the existing Night City or introduce a new version, and to what extent it will be playable, it appears that two detailed, playable cities might be featured in this sequel.

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While CD Projekt's primary focus is on The Witcher 4, a new studio has been established in Boston to work on Project Orion. Earlier this year, CD Projekt reported that 84 out of its 707 employees are dedicated to Project Orion, which remains in the concept phase. Given its early stage, significant changes are possible, and fans shouldn't expect the game for quite some time.

Additionally, a new Cyberpunk animation project is in the works for Netflix, following the success of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. In the nearer future, Cyberpunk 2077 is slated to launch on the Nintendo Switch 2.