The world of Cyberpunk 2077’s Night City looks like it could easily be the most detailed that developer CD Projekt Red has ever created. The game’s E3 trailer, which was released last month, shows an intricate world. According to Mike Pondsmith, the creator of the original tabletop game, that level of detail could go all the way down to the programmes Night City’s citizens watch on their televisions.
In an interview with PCGN, Pondsmith said that while visiting the CDPR studios to advise the team, the developers complained about not knowing “‘what people watch, what they do on their video screens’.” As you can see from the trailer (which you can watch at the bottom of this article), those screens are likely to play an important part – news bulletins feature regularly, and plenty of characters are seen watching their phones or with TVs playing in the background.
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Fortunately, Pondsmith had an answer for the dev, telling them that one of the Cyberpunk books features “an entire TV guide.”
Pondsmith states that the guide “actually lists […] one week of programming then [sic] in-depth on several programs.” They might not be the most high-brow television, as Pondsmith states that the team created them largely out of nowhere “throwing out just stupid programmes.” That should offer CDPR plenty of room to come up with their own creations, all while staying within official Cyberpunk lore.
Elsewhere in the interview, Pondsmith reveals that CD Projekt Red got the license to the game because “they were fans” of the tabletop game, after some devs bought the Polish version of the original tabletop game. If you fancy some more Cyberpunk lore, we’ve got you covered, with an in-depth look at the game’s setting, story, and classes.
The Cyberpunk 2077 release date hasn’t been revealed yet, but hopefully we won’t have too long to wait. Either way, CDPR says it’ll be more open to talking about the game now that it’s been officially revealed, so we should hear more soon.