CD Projekt RED isn’t aiming to make Cyberpunk 2 just another Witcher-like experience. The game’s creative director, Igor Sarzhinsky, bluntly explained that cutscenes from a third-person perspective don’t fit here. Using a third-person camera only in certain moments would disrupt the flow, and building the entire narrative around it would create a fundamentally different game.
This discussion revisits a common critique of Cyberpunk 2077: nearly all of its story scenes play out through the protagonist’s eyes, without the cinematic third-person angles players expect. Some players loved this immersive approach, feeling like they were at the heart of the action. Others longed for the chance to see their customized character, whose detailed appearance could take hours in the game’s editor.
Sarzhinsky addressed this on social media, stating that sporadic third-person scenes would look awkward. Switching fully to third-person would demand different direction, new animations, and essentially a whole new storytelling style. He even shared a graphic comparing the volume of large cutscenes in The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077, highlighting the vast difference in production workload.
For fans expecting a more traditional third-person narrative style in the sequel, this is a clear sign. According to one of the project leads, CD Projekt RED isn’t planning to abandon first-person storytelling-an integral part of the Cyberpunk series’ DNA. In Cyberpunk 2077, dialogues, animations, and scene direction were all crafted to keep players inside the character’s perspective rather than watching from an external viewpoint.
There’s also a practical side to this choice. If it isn’t broken, why fix it? By fall 2023, Cyberpunk 2077 had sold over 25 million copies, with its Phantom Liberty expansion crossing 5 million in sales. These numbers were boosted by the success of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners anime, major game updates, and price cuts. Meanwhile, Cyberpunk 2-currently known as Project Orion-is still in early development within CD Projekt RED’s North American studios.
The studio hasn’t commented on the in-game camera outside of cutscenes yet, but when it comes to storytelling sequences, the stance is clear. If CD Projekt RED sticks to this plan, Cyberpunk 2 will keep one of the most divisive yet defining features of its predecessor: first-person narrative immersion.