CD Projekt Red announced that Cyberpunk 2077 will receive a free DLC addition in "early 2021." The Polish developer didn't reveal anything other than the update's vague release window on December 29, but it might have a lot planned for the coming year. Cyberpunk 2077's free DLC's landing page stated that it "starts to hit Night City" in the first few months of 2021, which suggest the content will be a rolling series of updates, much like what was added to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
CDPR had previously teased its plans for a complimentary DLC pack before Cyberpunk 2077's controversial and buggy release on December 10. Since then the developer has focused on shipping a steady stream of fixes to address the game's most flagrant hitches. Players who have already sunk tens, if not hundreds, of hours exploring Night City now have new features and improvements to look forward to, but what will Cyberpunk's free DLC include?
CDPR hasn't unveiled what it's cooking up for the update just yet, but the initial addition will likely be on the lighter side and won't change the overarching narrative of the title. The company is planning a premium Cyberpunk 2077 expansion further down the line that will take players "deeper into the world of Cyberpunk 2077, offering substantial, story-driven content." Don't expect a monumental facelift to Night City in early 2021, but there are still plenty of small changes CDPR can make to improve its latest title's immersiveness and replayability.
Cyberpunk 2077 DLC: Character Appearance Changes
For a world that's obsessed with cybernetic body modifications, it's ludicrous that players can't change their Cyberpunk character's hairstyle and facial hair after the character creation menu. Ripperdocs seem like the perfect merchants to offer these styling services and they should also extend their expertise to makeup, eye-color, teeth, and most, if not all, of V's physical traits.
CDPR added barbers into The Witcher 3 as part of a free DLC update, so it's likely this feature will eventually make it into Cyberpunk 2077. If players can embed a Mantis Blade into V's arm, they should be able to change their in-game appearance whenever they want.
Cyberpunk 2077 DLC: Vehicle Customization
There are 54 different types of vehicles in Cyberpunk 2077, but players can't change a thing about them. CDPR should introduce a mechanic or add a feature into V's garage to let players select custom color schemes for each of the vehicles they own.
Players will stumble upon countless different paint jobs and details for cars and motorcycles as they cruise around Night City for a few minutes, but when they spend over 100,000 eddies for a sports car they're stuck with one color for the rest of the game. The Cyberpunk 2077 DLC should, at the very least, let gamers cycle through a handful of pre-selected styles for each of the vehicle archetypes.
Cyberpunk 2077 DLC: More Open-World Side Quests
While Night City is nothing short of eye-candy, it feels a bit stale and choreographed as an open-world game. Many of its side missions lean on repetitive formulas, like Cyberpunk 2077's Cyberpsycho bounties and the Delamain taxi fetch quests. These all come with unique interactions, but once gamers have completed one the next 20 are very similar.
CDPR could stand to sprinkle in a handful of one-off NPC interactions that would make the thousands of Night City residents feel a little less like zombies. These can be as simple as breaking up a funny argument between a shop clerk and a customer, helping an old man cross a highway for a small reward, or helping a child that's stuck in a pile of debris.
These tiny random instances could even pass on offering rewards and just offer snarky or funny dialogue. They could be much more straightforward than Cyberpunk 2077's big side-quest chains, but interactions like these would go a long way in making Night City feel more alive.