For those who have been waiting with bated breath for the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 DLC Phantom Liberty, developer CD Projekt Red says there will be "hands-on sessions" this summer for those who want to check it out. Although the memory of its release is still fresh in everyone's mind, in which the game was launched in an unfit state, CDPR's dystopian RPG is a decent game in the spy espionage genre, with a current Metacritic score of 86 on PC.Phantom Liberty is the first major expansion for Cyberpunk 2077, with it set to release some time in 2023. If nothing else, it shows the developer has been able to stick with the game, despite the backlash. That December 2020 launch date was a turning point for CDPR's otherwise stellar reputation, brought on by the critical reception of The Witcher 3, but luckily, the Polish studio has been able to undo a lot of the damage. Several patches have significantly improved Cyberpunk to the point where a lot of fans were prepared to forgive and forget. Now there will be a chance to check out the expansion at this year's Summer Game Fest. According to a recent post on the Cyberpunk 2077 Twitter account, the team will offer a "hands-on" experience for "press and content creators." However, the post goes on to say that the team is planning more sessions for the fan community in general, but that will come at a later date. In order to clarify what was being offered, user AbraLincoln09 asked what was meant by "hands-on opportunities," with an official response saying that it meant the community would get a chance to "play the game before release." Comments under the tweet have expressed delight at being able to check out Phantom Liberty prior to its launch.
Summer Game Fest is due to take place on June 8 and will be an online and in-person event. While the site does not yet list which developers or publishers will be there, it will be an exciting time for those who either want to watch for free online or pay for tickets to attend in-person.
On top of Phantom Liberty, there's also a Cyberpunk 2077 sequel currently in development, which was announced towards the latter parts of 2022 under the name "Project Orion." Of course, given that it's in the early stages, there's no way to know what the follow-up will be about or when it will be available.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.