Summary
Night City. A place that’s both hated and loved. It is loved by those who see it as a place to thrive, like corrupt businessmen, opportunistic mercenaries, andtough gangsters. It is hated for almost the exact same reason. Many consider it a place of scum and villainy, and it’s easy to see why this is the case. The rift between the rich and poor is massive, with the former exploiting their power to maintain their influence at the cost of the latter. In retaliation, those below the poverty line turn to a life of crime in the hopes of making it big and earning a lot of cash.
These things just make Night City all the more interesting as a fictional place. It is the perfect setting for a game such asCyberpunk 2077,where the stories told are harsh and encounters with corrupt,powerful peopleare frequent. However, not that many players may know most of what needs to be known about this fascinating city. It’s one of the most ambitious places that developer CD Projekt Red has ever created and there are so many small details and secrets to be found inCyberpunk 2077’s urban landscape.
Updated on August 08, 2025, by Ritwik Mitra:CD Projekt Red turned things around for Cyberpunk 2077 in a way that not many people could’ve foreseen. Almost all the bugs and glitches that ruined someone’s playthrough were axed, while the poorly-thought-out support for last-gen consoles was axed with the 2.0 update and the introduction of Phantom Liberty. Fans were glad to see the studio come back to greatness once again, and exploring Night City continues to be a blast. This city’s history is quite rich and something that people will love to uncover once they fall in love with this sprawling settlement, with brand-new additions thanks to the release of Phantom Liberty.
18Pacifica Wasn’t Totally A Lost Cause
The new expansion,Phantom Liberty, introduces players to awhole new borough of Night City called Dogtown. Players gain access to this area after completing the quests associated with the Voodoo Boys, following which they can find out about a section of Pacifica that is somehow even more riddled with crime and debauchery than the rest of the district.
Sometime after the Unification War, there were some investors who wanted to turn this area of Night City into another corporate playground. However, the locals weren’t having it and hit back with strong resistance. Even the NCPD gave up after the violence reached immense heights, and Kurt Hansen took over the chaos to wall off one particular section of Pacifica, initially called the Combat Zone before people started referring to it as Dogtown.
There’s no denying that Night City is far from the most hygienic city in the world.The rich live in their own bubbleand leave the poor to fend for themselves, leading to rampant crime, corruption, and disease that is slowly polluting the city. One such epidemic that most people believed wiped out a major chunk of Night City’s population is Rat Fever, which hit the city in 2072.
This hasn’t been confirmed in-game, but the sudden drop-off in population certainly supports this theory. Night City is full of such details, and players can learn about this tumultuous period in the series' history if they check out one of the many news broadcasts detailing out this story.
16The City Wanted To Be Neutral During The Unification War
When Rosalind Myers tried to federalize the free states during her reign as NUSA President, the ensuing opposition against this move led to a war between NUSA and the Free States, called the Unification War. This was a war where Militech and Arasaka flexed their muscles by opposing each other and supporting the two warring factions with their own state-of-the-art technology.
Surprisingly enough, Night City maintained its neutrality during this war despite being a part of the Free State of California at the time. This war lasted for about a year before the signing of the Treaty of Unification, following which Night City was officially recognized as an international autonomous free city.
15CD Projekt Red Hired Real-Life City Planners To Create The Area
Night City genuinely feels like a lived-in space that is full to the brim with packed boroughs, crime-laden slums, and an expansive desert where nomads have made their homes. It’s clear that a ton of planning went into creating this amazing urban landscape.
CD Projekt Red wasn’t cutting any corners while developing this massive city. This can be seen in the fact that the company hired city planners to make Night City as well-made as possible, which is absolutely brilliant.
14Many Consider It The Worst Place To Live In America
Night City is a place wherecrime and corruption run rampant. Sure, it might be a place where dreams come true…but this city also punishes people for being naive or ambitious, with only a select few managing to achieve long-term success in this region.
So, it’s no surprise that Night City has, in the world ofCyberpunk 2077,been voted as the worst place to live in all of America. Given the cyberpunk dystopia that has taken over the entire world, this proves that Night City is a special brand of terrible on its own.
13The City Was Meant To Have A “Disneyland” Design
Disneyland is an area where different cultures, IPs, and worlds are housed under the same roof. This is an enticing piece of design that was used in the creation of Night City as well.
Chinatown, Japantown, Corpo Plaza, Pacifica, and a bunch of other areas house elements from other cultures in one massive city. Thishelps each area of Night City look uniquewithout feeling too out of place.
12The City’s Birth Rate Has Fallen By Record Levels
Night City is as dystopian a city as can be. It might be a beautiful urban sprawl at times, but that doesn’t help anyone who stays in this area and is constantly exposed to its hardships time and time again.
The fact that the city’s birthrate fell by 7% in 2076 shows just how much toll stress and death is taking on the people of Night City. It’s the third-worst decline in North America, which is pretty damning indeed.
11Its Famous Slogan Replaced The City’s Previous Tagline
Most people know that Night City is called “The City of Dreams.” Various people have either crafted a lasting legacy here or died in the process, which goes to show just how ruthless this city is and how this slogan is pretty ironic in its own way.
Speaking of which, Night City actually used to have an entirely different tagline: “City on the Edge of Tomorrow.” Given how bleak the future of Night City is, it’s easy to see why this slogan was changed over time.
10It Is An Autonomous Free City
Before Night City’s status as an autonomous Free City can be understood, one must first learn what it means to be an autonomous Free City inCyberpunk.More commonly known as Free States, these states are still a part of the United States, but they have more independence wherein they can declare federal laws invalid, and even make up their own.
Night City is more of a unique case, however. It is the only territory that officially owns the title of “Free City.” It is officially not part of any state, nor does it belong to any country. Night City is its own entity, and by 2077, it is mostly run by the Arasaka megacorporation.
9Richard Night’s Dream
Richard Night was a United States businessman who foresaw the Collapse during the late 1990s. This event saw an immense economic crash that would hurt millions of Americans, regardless of age and status. To be free from this catastrophe, Richard Night dreamed of an ideal new city where the hopeful could thrive. To fulfill this dream, he founded Night International.
Richard Night’s company managed to secure a capital big enough to start the ambitious project. When the Collapse happened, tons of corporations turned to Night International, hoping to have a city free of crime and poverty where they could establish their businesses.
