The open world of Cyberpunk 2077 presented a serious challenge for CDPR, which wanted to create a truly dystopian city

Cyberpunk 2077 has received a lot of criticism since its release, but there's no denying that the city is amazingly well-designed. Night City still inspires admiration, and driving through its streets in a Quadra Type-66 with the radio on is a pleasure in itself. But did you know that its creation was a real challenge for CD Projekt Red?

Krzysztof Kornatka, Senior Environment Artist, commented on this topic. As you know, Cyberpunk 2077 takes place in the USA, or more precisely in California. According to the developer, the scale and specificity of the American scenery presented quite a challenge, since “most of the team is from Europe.” Additionally, Night City is a mixture of many cultures and you will find inspiration from other countries such as Japan. Kornatka also mentioned using various films in the work.

The ultimate goal was to “create a believable dystopian city,” divided into regions so that players always know where they are. Of course, it was equally important to fill it with interesting content, which, as we know, did not work out very well at launch, thanks to the map-cluttering question markers inherent in The Witcher 3. In the end, when it came to the world, the studio was up to the task and created one one of the most beautiful cities in gaming history. Let's hope that CD Projekt will raise the bar even higher in the upcoming sequel.