Everything we know about multiplayer in Cyberpunk 2077

is cyberpunk 2077 multiplayer
(Image credit: CD Projekt)
Reach immortality with these Cyberpunk guides

Cyberpunk

(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

Cyberpunk 2077 lifepaths: Which to choose
Cyberpunk 2077 map: What you need to know
Cyberpunk 2077 romance options
Cyberpunk 2077 builds: Best so far
Cyberpunk 2077 Braindance: How it works
Cyberpunk 2077 cars: Race around Night City
Cyberpunk 2077 hacking: How to do it

Does Cyberpunk 2077 have multiplayer? The answer is: Not yet, but it will. The multiplayer component wasn't ready for Cyberpunk 2077's singleplayer launch, but it will be free for anyone who owns the game when it’s eventually released. Just don't expect that to be soon. It might not even happen in 2021.

CD Projekt has barely talked about the multiplayer in the lead up to Cyberpunk 2077's singleplayer launch, other than to say recently that the studio will be “treating your money with respect." That line was in response to the news that, while microtransactions aren't present in the singleplayer game that released this week, there will be some kind of microtransactions in the Cyberpunk 2077 multiplayer release. 

Otherwise, though, it's anyone's guess what CD Projekt is working on, although there have been little hints over the years. Below is everything else we've learned so far about Cyberpunk 2077's multiplayer, and what it could look like when it arrives:

Cyberpunk 2077 multiplayer release date

During a Q&A call with investors back in January, CD Projekt hinted that it’s unlikely multiplayer will be ready until 2022. The game was due to launch in September then, and the studio’s publishing head Michal Nowakowski said that "2021 appears unlikely as a release date for the Cyberpunk multiplayer.”

Obviously, Cyberpunk was delayed a few times after that, so the multiplayer could be even further off than before.

It's clear singleplayer is the immediate focus for CD Projekt, with the developer stressing Cyberpunk won’t get multiplayer until the campaign receives several free and paid DLC updates. If you’ve been daydreaming of heated Night City deathmatches, you’re going to be twiddling your thumbs for some time. 

(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

Why will Cyberpunk 2077 multiplayer be like?

When multiplayer does finally arrive, expect something big—potentially ‘GTA Online’ big. During the same investor call, Nowakowski referred to Cyberpunk’s multiplayer as a “triple-A release”, hinting it is a major standalone companion piece to the main game, not a small mode. 

Exactly what form will Cyberpunk’s multiplayer take? That’s still a mystery. We do know CD Projekt hired Canadian developer Digital Scapes to help with multiplayer. Previously, the studio worked on Dying Light’s Be The Zombie PvP mode. The fact that an outside team has been enlisted to help with multiplayer suggests this is a large project.

(Image credit: CD Projekt)

Considering guns feature substantially in Cyberpunk 2077’s campaign, we wouldn’t be shocked if its multiplayer offered some form of PvP deathmatch. Vehicles also play a crucial role in traversing the labyrinthine Night City and the surrounding Badlands, so perhaps you might be treated to some online races. 

Will CD Projekt try to create a multiplayer mode of the size and scope of a GTA or Red Dead Online? Those are lofty targets to shoot for, but the early signs are that the studio is working on an ambitious multiplayer mode. Just prepare for a long wait before we know anything more.

Latest in RPG
Rise of the Ronin review
Rise of the Ronin review
A lolporrit squeals in excitement while being driven in a moon buggie in Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail, patch 7.2.
Final Fantasy 14 patch 7.2's trailer has me finally hyped to get stuck back in—and to go to the moon and pilot some mechs, because why not
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 barbers change hairstyle - Henry sitting on a horse wearing armour.
How to find a barber and change hairstyle in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
Key art of the videogame Lunacid, showing a pale, long haired knight in purple armor contemplating a purple, flaming sword surrounded by the different phases of the moon.
One of my favorite indie RPGs is getting a follow-up made with FromSoftware's 25-year-old Super Mario Maker for first person dungeon crawlers
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 image - Henry riding a pink and blue striped horse while holding a fish
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 now has Steam Workshop support, and of course one of the first mods lets you adjust the 'jiggle physics'
Erenshor - A player and two simulated MMO party members stand on a plateau in front of a yellow landscape
This RuneScape-looking 'simulated MMORPG' has all the nostalgia without the drama because all the other 'players' are NPCs
Latest in Features
Monster Hunter Wilds' stockpile master studying a manifest
Monster Hunter Wilds' new gyro controls are a fantastic option for disabled and able-bodied players alike
Manhunt 2
I played the notoriously ratings-board-ravaged Manhunt 2 and was quite glad for the censorship actually
A busy marketplace in The Bazaar.
The Bazaar could be the future of autobattlers, if it stops strangling itself to death with its own microtransactions
Marvel Rivals characters - Hulk with his hands out as if he's grabbing the camera.
Marvel Rivals' growing roster of heroes scares me, but the game's director seems sure that all is under control: 'Everything is progressing smoothly'
Rainbow Six Siege year 9 season 2 key art - two Rainbow Six Siege operators facing each other
'Siege 2 was never on the table': Rainbow Six Siege X director explains why the 10-year-old FPS doesn't need a sequel
Gallica and the protagonist from Metaphor: ReFantazio.
The best deals in the 2025 Steam Spring Sale