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 hinted at some new details.

Pondsmith, who collaborated closely with CD Projekt on the blockbuster Cyberpunk 2077 and played a key role in its promotion ahead of the 2020 launch, discussed his involvement with Project Orion at the Digital Dragons 2025 conference. He revealed that while his involvement is less direct this time, he still reviews scripts and has visited CD Projekt to observe the development process.

“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.’ "

“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 note that Pondsmith’s remarks suggest a dystopian city inspired by Chicago, not necessarily a future version of Chicago itself. While speculation abounds about whether the sequel will expand on the existing Night City or introduce a new version, and how much of it will be playable, it appears there might be two detailed, playable cities in the sequel.

Every CD Projekt Red Game In Development

View 8 ImagesCurrently, CD Projekt’s main focus is on The Witcher 4, but they have 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 is still in its conceptual stage. Given this, a release is not anticipated for the near future.

Additionally, a new Cyberpunk animation project is in the works for Netflix, following the success of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. In the nearer future, fans can look forward to Cyberpunk 2077 being released on the Nintendo Switch 2.