PSA: You can lock yourself out of Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty's main questline early on

An image of V putting up his hand to Reed, a stern agent from Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty.

(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is a preem spy thriller adventure. However, if your V really isn't that interested in working with government types, you can choose not to sign on to a life of martinis shaken, not stirred.

Only issue is, choosing to do so locks you out of the questline—and from what I've tested, it's permanent. At minimum it'll delay your progression through the DLC's story substantially, but I don't get the sense Reed's gonna call me back.

Here's the mostly spoiler-free rundown: at the end of a mission called Lucretia My Reflection, you'll be given a choice to stay or go. If you go, you really do go—you fail the mission, and are roadblocked from proceeding.

You can still run around Dogtown, but there'll be no suit and tie galas with Mr. Elba, which is a crime in itself. Just make sure to play ball with your new friends, and you'll be golden. If you're really worried about accidentally dropping the new DLC, here's the specifics.

Spoilerific specifics

Idris Elba in Cyberpunk in snazzy jacket leaning forward — (Image credit: CD Projekt)

Explore Dogtown with these Phantom Liberty guides

Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

How to start Phantom Liberty: Enter Dogtown
Cyberpunk 2077 Restricted Data Terminals: Get Relic Points
Cyberpunk 2077 airdrops: Loot unique rewards
Cyberpunk 2077 Iconic weapons: The best guns in Dogtown
Cyberpunk 2077 1R-ONC-LAD photo locations: Help the robot

Lucretia My Reflection is the fourth mission in the DLC's main questline, a couple of hours into the DLC's fairly opening gauntlet. The missions before it are, in order, Dog Eat Dog, Hole in the Sky, and Spider and Fly.

To save you the anxiety of accidentally flipping off the FIA, you'll want to start paying attention when Reed reunites with NUSA President Rosalind Myers. While the two stand in front of a gloomily lit, blinded window (in true pulp noir fashion), you'll be given a choice to say "You're right, I'm out".

This isn't immediately binding, and the game gives you a chance to stick with the plan. President Myers warns you "Walk out of here, and the deal's null and void—understand?" If you select the option "Made my decision", you'll fail the quest completely and be left feeling sorry for yourself on the streets of Dogtown.

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An image of two characters in a shaded room from Cyberpunk 2077, staring intently at the player, who is asked to make a difficult choice. — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

You'll immediately fail the quest, and have no way to progress through the DLC's main story. Reed will contact you a few days later to let you know the President made it out safe and sound, but he'll then immediately ghost you by deleting his account. No hard feelings, then.

Reed, an agent from Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, sends you a text before immediately ghosting you. — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

Getting the choice to just persist in a DLC-less world is pretty funny, though a major pain if it's been a while since your last save. I can only assume this choice is here for diehard roleplayers who would deny themselves Mr. Elba's star-studded company, all to avoid cosying up to the feds. That or it's just a useful choice for new playthroughs, where you might want access to Dogtown without doing the whole Phantom Liberty questline all over again.

Harvey's history with games started when he first begged his parents for a World of Warcraft subscription aged 12, though he's since been cursed with Final Fantasy 14-brain and a huge crush on G'raha Tia. He made his start as a freelancer, writing for websites like Techradar, The Escapist, Dicebreaker, The Gamer, Into the Spine—and of course, PC Gamer. He'll sink his teeth into anything that looks interesting, though he has a soft spot for RPGs, soulslikes, roguelikes, deckbuilders, MMOs, and weird indie titles. He also plays a shelf load of TTRPGs in his offline time. Don't ask him what his favourite system is, he has too many.