Cyberpunk TRPG creator confirms that “there will be” Cyberpunk 2077 sourcebooks
Once the TRPG timeline catches up.
Mike Pondsmith, the creator behind the Cyberpunk tabletop roleplaying series, has confirmed that he is planning new sourcebooks based on the 2020 video game adaption, Cyberpunk 2077.
In an interview with Dicebreaker, the game designer spoke about the future of the tabletop RPG series now that its most recent edition, Cyberpunk Red, has been released. When asked whether there would be any sourcebooks based on the period and characters of Cyberpunk 2077, the video game developed and published by CD Projekt Red, Pondsmith replied “there will be, I can’t say much more than that. I am sworn to secrecy by a bunch of very tall quiet Polish men.”
Cyberpunk 2077 sourcebooks are not a priority due to the fact that Pondsmith and the team at R Talesorian – the studio responsible for releasing the sci-fi tabletop RPG – is currently focused on bridging the gap in the series’ timeline between 2045, the period in which Cyberpunk Red takes place, and the world of Cyberpunk 2077. “It’s not like we can just put out Red and then say ‘now we’re going to do 2077’,” explained Pondsmith, “there’s a lot of stuff needed to go in between to make a 2077 book make sense.” Pondsmith used an event called The Metal Wars, which is referenced in Cyberpunk 2077, as an example of something that the Cyberpunk tabletop roleplaying game could expand on and flesh-out.
According to Pondsmith, R Talesorian are currently responsible for creating the world and story of the Cyberpunk universe up until the in-universe year of 2060, with CD Projekt Red in charge of the events taking place after that. “We go up to about 2060 and then they [CDPR] pick up telling the story from there,” he clarified. Despite this, as with the creation of Cyberpunk 2077, Pondsmith confirmed that R Talesorian will continue collaborate with CDPR in deciding the future of the Cyberpunk universe: “we’re still involved in it.” Pondsmith confirmed that CDPR are currently working with R Talesorian on “more DLC [downloadable content]” for Cyberpunk 2077, with the game designer commenting in the interview that “this would usually be the time I’d be hooking up with the CDPR team.”
Cyberpunk is a tabletop roleplaying game series that began in 1988 with the release of its first edition, before it was followed by Cyberpunk 2020 and its most recent release Cyberpunk Red. Set in an alternative version of 2045, Cyberpunk Red has players becoming members of various warring factions – from rebel groups to the corporate elite – in a world that’s dominated by powerful and wealthy corporations. Players are able to create characters using the available classes, such as the charismatic Rockerboy or hacker Netrunner, and can customise their abilities and equipment as they wish.
Cyberpunk 2077 is a video game developed and published by CD Projekt Red that takes place in the future of the sci-fi world, with the player becoming a mercenary called V. In the video game, players are free to pursue different jobs and side-quests, as well as customise their equipment and appearance, whilst making important narrative decisions along the way.
Pondsmith has not confirmed when the Cyberpunk 2077 sourcebooks would be announced or released.