The Ghost in the Machine: Why Cyberpunk 2077’s Final Update Could Miss a Better Farewell

The journey of Cyberpunk 2077 has been one of the most dramatic redemption arcs in modern gaming history. From its notoriously rocky launch to its glorious revival with the 2.0 update and the fantastic Phantom Liberty expansion, CD Projekt Red has transformed the game into a critically acclaimed masterpiece. With the recent release of update 2.3, which adds features like an AutoDrive system, new vehicles, and enhanced graphics options, the developers seem to be putting the final touches on their work. While this update is a welcome addition, and a clear sign of the company’s commitment to the game, it also feels like a point of no return. If this is indeed the last major content drop for Cyberpunk 2077, it will have missed a far more poetic and impactful stopping point, one that the game itself has already beautifully established.

The “end of the rope” for a game like Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t just about technical updates and new features; it’s about the emotional and narrative conclusion of the player’s journey. The Phantom Liberty expansion, in particular, delivered a powerful and definitive sense of closure for V’s story. It was a self-contained spy thriller that not only provided a new narrative but also offered a brand new ending to the main game, one that fundamentally changed V’s life forever. This ending, where V is cured of the Relic but loses the ability to use most cyberware, forces the player to grapple with a new, somber reality. The story of V and Johnny Silverhand finally finds a conclusion, one that is deeply personal and reflective of the core themes of the game. This was the moment where the game felt truly complete, and it would have been a perfect and fitting farewell.

Phantom Liberty: The True Ending?

The core narrative of Cyberpunk 2077 is a race against time, a desperate struggle for V to save their own life. Phantom Liberty’s new ending, often referred to as the “Tower” ending, provided a resolution to that struggle, albeit a very bittersweet one. In this ending, the player gets what they wanted—the Relic is removed and V is saved. But the cost is immense. The two-year coma and the inability to use cyberware mean that V’s identity as a legendary solo has been stripped away. The world has moved on without them, and the friends and contacts they relied on have all found new paths. This sense of loss and the quiet, almost mundane, life that V is forced to live is a far more powerful and haunting conclusion than any other ending in the game. It is a story about the cost of living and the difficult truth that not all victories are glorious. It was a narrative masterpiece that felt like the perfect final chapter.

The Post-2.3 Limbo: A Missed Opportunity

With update 2.3, players are now back in Night City with new vehicles, an autopilot system, and a variety of quality-of-life improvements. While these are all excellent additions, they come after the emotional high of Phantom Liberty’s conclusion. The game now feels like it’s in a state of a “post-ending” limbo. The new features are great, but they don’t add to the narrative or V’s character arc. The AutoDrive feature, for example, is a fantastic quality-of-life improvement, but it doesn’t solve the lingering emotional questions from the expansion’s ending. The game is now left in a state where it is technically superb, but narratively it has already peaked. The decision to add more content after such a powerful narrative conclusion feels like a slight anticlimax, a lingering echo of a story that has already been told.

A “New Game Plus”: The Perfect Final Feature

One of the most requested features from the community has been a “New Game Plus” mode, and its absence in update 2.3 has been a major point of disappointment. A New Game Plus would have been the perfect final feature for Cyberpunk 2077. It would allow players to take their fully-upgraded V and re-experience the story, making different choices and exploring the world with a new sense of power. This would have provided a massive amount of replay value and given players a reason to dive back into Night City with their endgame character. It would have been a final, definitive gesture from CD Projekt Red, a perfect way to honor the journey that players have taken with V. Instead, the game’s final update, while adding some great new features, has left a gaping hole for a feature that would have been a far more fitting and rewarding conclusion for the game’s life cycle.