Cyberpunk 2077’s Endings Explained

Cyberpunk 2077 is a big game, with many choices to make and characters to befriend or betray over its lengthy runtime. So, there’s no surprise the game features multiple endings that can vary significantly depending on main character V’s choices.

With Cyberpunk 2077’s popularity and player base reaching new heights after the release of the brilliant Next-Gen update for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S (which finally brought the game closer in line with what was promised before launch) and the spectacular Edgerunners anime on Netflix, many players, new and old, are finally pushing towards the game’s credits and may be wondering how V’s story pans out.

The ending a player gets relies most heavily on the choices they make just before the final mission. But the choices they made throughout the game prior, including who (if anyone) they decided to help or romance, can affect how many choices are available to them. These choices are laid out to the player when they decide to undertake the “Nocturne Op55N1” mission.

There are four main endings players can unlock in Cyberpunk 2077, provided certain conditions are met, as well as one “easy way out” ending, and one secret ending that requires some incredibly precise steps to pull off.

So, what are these endings? What do they mean? And how are they unlocked?

The Devil (Where is My Mind)

This is one of the game’s default endings, with no requirements needed to unlock. In this ending, V decides to help Hanako avenge the death of Saburo Arasaka, who was killed by her brother, Yorinobu, at the very start of the game.

To see this ending, players must pick the “Think trusting Arasaka’s risky but worth it” line at the moment of choice in the “Nocturne Op55N1” mission. Of course, Johnny Silverhand is very unhappy with this decision (wanting instead to wipe the mega-corporation from the face of the planet), and so V takes a few Omega blocker pills to shut him up for a little while. From there, V calls Hanako to say they are going to help her and finds out she has been kidnapped by her brother, Yorinobu, and needs to be rescued.

Once rescued, V accompanies Hanako to Arasaka tower, where she reveals she has a copy of her father’s consciousness on an engram. This copied consciousness informs Arasaka’s board of directors that Yorinobu murdered his own father. But it’s too late, as Yorinobu has already sent a hit squad to execute the entirety of the board.

Luckily, both V and Hanako manage to survive this encounter and race off after Yorinobu. Finding him is the easy part, it’s getting close to him that proves a little more challenging. A small army of Arasaka guards and the Night City Legend Adam Smasher himself stand in V’s way. But once they’ve been taken out however the player sees fit, Yorinobu is a sitting duck. V leaves the patricidal killer in the very capable hands of his sister, Hanako, and goes to Mikoshi (the cyberspace fortress where digitised constructs of Arasaka’s “Secure Your Soul” program are stored), where they enter Cyberspace and meet with Johnny. Naturally, Johnny is furious with them for taking Arasaka’s side, but after a lengthy conversation, V leaves him in Cyberspace with Alt (Johnny’s girlfriend turned cyberspace ghost after falling victim to Arasaka’s Soulkiller program), and returns to their body.

V will awaken sometime later on Arasaka’s orbital station, slowly circling the globe from space. And there, they are offered a choice: Sign a contract a join Arasaka’s Secure Your Soul program, which promises eternal life as V’s consciousness is copied onto an engram and stored forever within Mikoshi, or refuse, and consign themselves to a maximum of six months left to live as the Relic overwrites their brain completely. The choice is entirely up to the player. Choose the former, and their personality will be saved, but it is entirely at the mercy of a mega-corporation whose lack of humanity is well documented. Or choose the latter and make the most of the time they have left in Night City. Either way, their fate is sealed.  

The Sun (Path of Glory)

This is an ending only for those who have attained a great relationship with Rocker Boy anarchist and persistent hallucinatory companion Johnny Silverhand. To achieve this, players must complete the “Blistering Love” mission, which can be unlocked by choosing the “A hard road, but looks like we made it” dialogue option during the last part of the “Chippin’ in” mission. Completing “Blistering Love” will see players take Rogue out on one last date for Johnny, and will finally secure her trust.

From there, players can go down this ending’s route by picking “Think you and Rogue should go” during the moment of choice in “Nocturne Op55N1”. Saying this will allow Johnny to take control of V’s body. The player will now essentially have to finish the game as Johnny, only with all of V’s weapons and skills.

Johnny heads straight to the Afterlife nightclub to talk to Rogue and draft a plan on how to take on Arasaka. After a quick chat with Alt (via the Afterlife’s netrunner Nix), Johnny (the player) and Rogue take an AV up to Arasaka Tower. Unfortunately, it’s not going to be that easy, and the AV is shot down before it reaches its destination, crash-landing on the boardroom floor of the Tower, which is close enough for Johnny. He and Rogue fight their way through the Tower and onto the security floor, where Johnny plugs Alt’s digitised form into Arasaka’s systems for extra support.

From there, they fight their way to Mikoshi, only to be stopped in their tracks by Adam Smasher. Sadly, this is the end of Rogue’s story and her illustrious career, as Adam Smasher swiftly dispatches her. Enraged, Johnny ends Smasher once and for all and continues to Mikoshi, where he enters Cyberspace and reunites with V’s consciousness and Alt.

It’s here that the player is presented with another choice. Johnny can say either, “Goin’ with Alt, you live on,” which continues this ending, or, “Not ready to die yet,” which leads to the Temperance ending.

Choose the former and Johnny will give V their body back and cross the Cyberspace bridge, trapping himself within cyberspace forever with Alt. A short while later, V will wake up, but the chip is still slowly wiping their brain, meaning even after all that, they still only have around six months to live. V decides to spend it living the best life they can, as a certified Legend of Night City. This is one of the best endings for both V and Johnny, as it wraps up their journeys wonderfully and leaves the game on a poignant bittersweet note.

The Star (All Along the Watchtower)

If the player has romanced Panam and/or has gained the trust of the Aldecaldos, then they are in with a shot of seeing this ending. To unlock this ending, players must complete the “Queen of the Highway” mission with Panam. This mission consists of using a Basilisk tank to take out a group of marauders attacking the Aldecaldo’s camp, and completing it will gain the gang’s trust.

In this ending, V takes on the might of Arasaka with Panam and the Aldecaldo gang at their side. To go down this route, players simply need to pick “Goanna ask Panam for help” during the moment of choice in “Nocturne Op55N1”.

From there, V calls Panam and travels to the Aldecaldo camp outside of Night City, where they hatch a plan to tunnel underneath Arasaka Tower. V is made an official member of the Aldecaldos (and receives a pretty nifty jacket that players get to keep after the mission is done), and they all spend the night celebrating around the campfire and preparing for what’s to come.

The next morning, they strike. V pilots a Basilisk tank as the Aldecaldos attack a nearby construction site and break into the tunnel they’re working on. Many Aldecaldos die in the attack, but it’s not in vain, as they capture the dig site and V and Panam are able to drill through the tunnel and into Arasaka Tower. Once inside, they fight their way through the levels until they reach the security floor, where V plugs Alt into Arasaka’s systems for extra support.

Then, it’s onwards to Mikoshi. Again, Adam Smasher stands in the player’s way, and again, it spells doom for one of their companions. Saul, the Aldecaldos’ leader, is mercilessly killed. But V and Panam fight back, eventually smashing Adam Smasher flat. They continue to Mikoshi and V enters Cyberspace to talk with Johnny and Alt.

After a conversation, a very similar choice to the one seen in The Sun ending will be presented to the player. V can choose to say, “Wanna live out whatever life I’ve got left,” which continues this ending, or they can say, “Body’s Johnny’s. I’ll go,” which leads to the Temperance ending.

Choosing to keep their body will see Johnny cross the bridge with Alt, and V waking up to live out the remainder of their six months with Panam and the Aldecaldos. Together, the gang leaves Night City, convinced there’s someone out there who can save V, and feeling hopeful. This is probably the happiest ending of them all. Especially if the player romanced Panam, as the last shot is of them riding off over the horizon together towards an optimistic future.

Temperance (New Dawn Fades)

There are two routes to reach this ending, but they both end the same way, with the Relic in V’s head finally accomplishing its duty and Johnny Silverhand completely taking over V’s mind and body.

Whether it’s from choosing “Not ready to die yet,” in The Sun, or “Body’s Johnny’s. I’ll go,” in The Star, both outcomes are the same. V will cross the Cyberspace bridge instead of Johnny, trapping themselves forever in cyberspace, and Johnny will wake up sometime later in V’s body. From there, Johnny goes guitar shopping and visits the Columbarium to pay his last respects to both V and Rogue (if she died), and then heads out into Night City to wrap up some unfinished business. He doesn’t plan on sticking around for long, though, eventually boarding a bus and heading out over the horizon on a new adventure.

This is a good ending for those who want complete closure on V’s story, and want to see Johnny finally accomplish his life’s goal and take down Arasaka.

The Path of Least Resistance

This ending is the “easy way out”. In this ending, V decides there is no hope, that trying to take on Arasaka will just cause death a misery for all involved, and they lose their will to live.

Even though it goes against everything the player has been fighting for the entire game, if they choose to say, “Could also just put all this to rest,” and throw away their pills while sitting atop Misty’s rooftop, V will end it all with a single bullet to the head. Naturally, with V dead, there is no epilogue to this ending, though during the credits, V’s friends can be seen and heard mourning them, and wondering why it had to end this way.

This ending is available to all players, no matter their previous choices. Though why they would want to end V’s story this way after all they’ve been through is anyone’s guess.

The Secret Ending ((Don’t Fear) The Reaper)

This ending is incredibly easy to miss as it requires the player to make some very specific dialogue choices. According to the Cyberpunk 2077 wiki, players have to choose three dialogue options during the final part of the “Chippin’ In” mission. While talking to Johnny, players must say:

• “Nah, ****ed that up too.”
• “What do you want from me?”
• “Ok. But as second chances go, this is your last.”

In that order, when they pop up. Doing so will raise Johnny’s affinity level to 40% and unlock the secret ending.

But there’s another hidden step before the ending presents itself. During the moment of choice in “Nocturne Op55N1”, when the player is given the options to choose to call Hanako, Rogue, or Panam (depending on the choices they made), they should instead remain silent. If, instead of clicking on any of the presented choices, the player does nothing for a full five minutes, Johnny will offer another option. Once they hear him out, the player then needs to choose:

• “Let’s hear this plan.”
• “[Attack Arasaka Tower] Means goin’ out with a bang – I like it.”

Do this right and V will take on Arasaka Tower alone. None of their allies will come and provide back-up, and none else will have to die. It’s a bold and reckless move, and not for the faint of heart.

Thus starts the suicide run. V boots open the front door of Arasaka Tower and starts fighting their way up to the top. If V dies at any point, the credits will immediately start to roll and play out as if the player had chosen The Path of Least Resistance option. If, they succeed, however, V will eventually plug Alt into the system, kill Adam Smasher, and enter Cyberspace, entirely unaided. The ending will then play out the same as The Sun, if V decides to stay in their body, or Temperance, if they allow Johnny to take over.

This is an ending for the real legends of Night City, those who aren’t afraid to take on the world alone.