Skip to main content

Cyberpunk 2077 will feature romance options beyond heterosexual relationships

Cyberpunk 2077 romance NPC relationship heterosexual homosexual trans fluid identity CD Projekt Red
Image used with permission by copyright holder

E3 2019 brought the debut of a new Cyberpunk 2077 character played by Keanu Reeves, along with the release date for CD Projekt Red’s upcoming open-world RPG. At least, that was all there was for the public. Members of the press and special guests were shown more behind the scenes, but developers have been revealing additional information well after the event, including a new tidbit regarding the romance options players will be able to manage.

Recommended Videos

In the Witcher series, CD Projekt Red was working with an established world, lore, and lead character. Both of Cyberpunk 2077’s major demos, one in 2018 and one this yea , have featured two different versions of “V,” the game’s lead character. When the game launches, players will be able to craft a V of their own making and choose their desired gender identity, backstory, key life event, and more. That fluid nature is pushing the game developers to create various options that reflect the interest of the character players shape.

Paweł Sasko, Cyberpunk 2077 lead quest designer, opened up his Twitter account so that anyone could send him direct messages asking about the game, and one redditor took the opportunity to ask about character relationships. 

Sasko used The Witcher 3’s lead character, Geralt, as a reference and said that the interactions will function similarly, but there are more options due to the lead character of Cyberpunk 2077 being an undefined player creation. Specifically, Sasko says players will be able to have “more options [than] only heterosexual,” and he mentions non-player characters (NPCs), so players may be able to cultivate multiple relationships within a single playthrough. He also points to the entire quests in The Witcher 3 that were dedicated to romantic options, which means Cyberpunk 2077 will have some characters that you’ll have to build a rapport with over time.

Cyberpunk 2077’s gender-fluid character creator will reflect a world based on Michael Pondsmith’s tabletop RPG that’s filled with NPCs who are equally as fluid. This gives CD Projekt Red a wide selection of choices for unique characters that players can romance. The only question remaining is how far players will be able to take the relationships.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Charles Singletary Jr.
I'm a Birmingham, AL raised author, journalist, and gaming enthusiast currently residing in San Antonio, TX. My work has…
Cyberpunk 2077: How to start Phantom Liberty DLC
A pyramid from Cyberpunk 2077.

The rehabilitation of Cyberpunk 2077 finally culminates in both the release of the 2.0 update and the substantial DLC expansion called Phantom Liberty. Between these two, plus all the changes made in the years since launch, the once unstable and buggy game is finally living up to its potential. While everything up until this point has been free, including the 2.0 changes, Phantom Liberty is the first and only piece of paid content. Giving players an entirely new area in Dogtown to explore, plus a lengthy main story and tons of new side missions, it's the biggest reason to reinstall this ambitious title. But how exactly can you start the DLC since it is meant to slot into the story of the main game rather than take place before or after? We've hacked in and downloaded all the data you need on how to start the Phantom Liberty DLC.
How to start Phantom Liberty
There are actually a few different ways to get into Phantom Liberty depending on your preference and whether or not you've played the base game. The easiest way to get directly into it is through the main menu. With the DLC installed, you will have an option to jump directly into the expansion, even if you haven't played the main game yet. This sounds great for those who want to see the new stuff right away, but it isn't recommended if you haven't played the base game at all. You will be given a character automatically leveled up and placed at the proper point in the story for the DLC to take place with no context or tutorial on how to play. Note that picking this option doesn't lock you out of any of the base game content.

For new players who want to experience Phantom Liberty more naturally, you will need to play the opening hours of Cyberpunk 2077 until you complete the "Transmission" mission before the quest that starts the DLC will trigger.

Read more
Cyberpunk 2077 might force you to upgrade your CPU
Cyberpunk 2077 running on the Samsung Odyssey OLED G8.

The highly anticipated expansion to Cyberpunk 2077 is just around the corner, and with the release of Phantom Liberty, many gamers might need to start thinking of upgrading their PCs. Now, CD Projekt Red has shed a little more light on the matter. It seems that some people might need to swap to one of the best CPUs, and even those already running modern hardware should still look into their cooling systems because Cyberpunk 2077 is just about to become a lot more CPU-intensive.

Filip Pierściński, who is a leading scene programmer at CD Projekt Red, shared an update regarding the game's CPU utilization going forward. Cyberpunk 2077 is famous for requiring one of the top GPUs, but it historically hasn't made the most out of the CPU. In fact, players had to rely on mods to boost CPU utilization, as the game itself wasn't able to effectively utilize Intel's hyper-threading (HT) and AMD's simultaneous multi-threading (SMT). The good news is that those mods can now be put to rest, but the bad news is that if your hardware is a little outdated, it might struggle to run Cyberpunk 2077 for a whole new reason now.

Read more
All romance options in Starfield
Sarah Morgan in the lodge looking at the player.

Space is a big, lonely place for someone to travel alone in Starfield. Even though you can bring along a crew of Companions to join you on your ship, sometimes you need a bit more than friendship. Romance options have become more and more common in RPGs of this type, and can even be the main appeal in games like Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and Baldur's Gate 3. Starfield's new cast aren't all romanceable, though, so you might find your romantic options a bit limited.

Note: This will be spoiler-free (except for the existence of these characters, obviously) however there is a major story moment that, after which, certain characters may no longer be romanceable. To be safe, attempt to romance your character of choice as early as possible.

Read more