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

CD Projekt's Cyberpunk 2077 sequel, codenamed Project Orion, remains shrouded in mystery, yet Cyberpunk creator Mike Pondsmith has tantalizingly dropped some fresh details about the project. Pondsmith, who collaborated extensively with CD Projekt on the blockbuster Cyberpunk 2077 and played a key role in its promotion before its 2020 release, shared insights about his involvement with Project Orion during the Digital Dragons 2025 conference.

Pondsmith revealed that while his involvement in the sequel isn't as deep as before, he still reviews scripts and has visited CD Projekt to get a glimpse of the ongoing development. During a recent visit, he engaged with various departments, offering feedback on new elements such as cyberware. He stated, "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.'"

One intriguing revelation from Pondsmith was that Project Orion will introduce a brand new city alongside the familiar Night City from Cyberpunk 2077. He described this new city as "like Chicago gone wrong." Pondsmith elaborated on his experience, saying, "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 the essence of a dystopian Chicago, rather than an actual future Chicago. There's ongoing speculation about whether the sequel will expand on the existing Night City or introduce a new version, and how much of these cities will be playable. It seems the sequel might offer two richly developed, playable cities.

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While CD Projekt is primarily focused on The Witcher 4, they've 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 are working on Project Orion, which remains in its conceptual phase. With much still subject to change, fans shouldn't expect the game to hit the shelves anytime soon.

Additionally, there's excitement brewing over a new Cyberpunk animation project slated for Netflix, following the success of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. In the nearer future, Cyberpunk 2077 is also set to make its debut on the Nintendo Switch 2.