Cyberpunk datamine suggests multiplayer and expansions are still coming

CD Projekt Red is still planning to release Cyberpunk 2077 multiplayer features and at least two game expansions, according to a datamine of the game’s latest patch.

Cyberpunk 2077 version 1.3 – the game’s biggest patch to date – was released last week and made more than 40 GB of changes on PC.

According to an analysis of the update’s game files by content creator Tyler McVicker, the 1.3 update has made sweeping changes to Cyberpunk and its engine. Most significantly, a datamine of the game’s executable has found new references to multiplayer and expansions.

At least two expansions are now listed in Cyberpunk 2077’s files, it’s claimed, and build states for “multiplayer gyms” and various tests. There’s also reference to “old” multiplayer modes, which could be pointing to the original plans for a Cyberpunk online game.

As part of a wide-ranging CD Projekt strategy update published in March, president and joint CEO Adam Kiciński announced that the company had “reconsidered” plans for a standalone Cyberpunk online game.

CD Projekt first suggested in January 2020 that its Cyberpunk multiplayer project would be its own “triple-A” release rather than a Cyberpunk 2077 add-on, and last November Kiciński called it “a separate dedicated production, a big production”, adding: “we think about it as a standalone product”.

However, Kiciński said in a video announcing the cancellation of its online plans: “Previously we hinted that our next triple-A would be a multiplayer Cyberpunk game, but we have decided to reconsider this now.

“Given our new more systematic and agile approach, instead of primarily focusing on one big online experience or game, we are focusing on bringing online into all of our franchises one day.”

CD Projekt later made comments alluding to having online elements in its future games, but approaching development incrementally. This week’s datamine of the 1.3 patch could suggest that part of the company’s new plan is to add multiplayer features to Cyberpunk via future updates.

The first details of the originally planned Cyberpunk 2077 multiplayer modes were seemingly uncovered by dataminers in January. References to Heists and Deathmatch multiplayer modes were spotted in the game’s executable file.

Code related to Heists suggested players may be able to choose from various character classes in a co-op mission-based game mode.

As for the Cyberpunk expansion packs, CDP previously suggested Cyberpunk would receive more than the two full story expansions and 16 DLC packs The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt did following its release in May 2015.

Cyberpunk’s post-launch plans were significantly altered following its troubled release, but the game finally received its first piece of DLC this month alongside the 1.3 update.