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

CD Projekt’s highly anticipated sequel to Cyberpunk 2077, codenamed Project Orion, remains shrouded in mystery, yet Cyberpunk creator Mike Pondsmith has recently shared some intriguing details. Pondsmith, who collaborated closely with CD Projekt on the blockbuster Cyberpunk 2077 and was actively involved in its promotion leading up to the 2020 launch, provided insights into his role with Project Orion during the Digital Dragons 2025 conference.

While Pondsmith clarified that his involvement in Project Orion is less hands-on than before, he still reviews scripts and has visited CD Projekt to observe 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.’"

During the conference, Pondsmith dropped a tantalizing hint about the sequel: it will feature a brand new city alongside 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 suggest a city that captures the essence of a dystopian Chicago, not necessarily that the sequel will be set in a future version of Chicago itself. The exact nature of this new city remains unconfirmed.

There is ongoing speculation about whether the sequel will expand upon the existing Night City or introduce an entirely new version, and to what extent these cities will be playable. While much is still unknown, it appears that Project Orion might include two fully realized, playable cities.

Every CD Projekt Red Game In Development

View 8 Images

While CD Projekt is currently focusing on The Witcher 4, they have established a new studio in Boston dedicated to working on Project Orion. Earlier this year, CD Projekt revealed that 84 out of their 707 staff members are currently assigned to Project Orion, which is still in the concept phase. Given this early stage, significant changes are possible, and fans shouldn't expect the game to be released anytime soon.

In addition to Project Orion, CD Projekt is also working on a new Cyberpunk animation project for Netflix, following the success of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. In the near future, fans can look forward to Cyberpunk 2077 being available on the Nintendo Switch 2.