Cyberpunk 2077 Sequel to Showcase Photorealistic Textures

CD Projekt Red has hinted that the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 sequel, codenamed "Project Orion," will feature more realistic textures and a greater focus on cinematic presentation compared to the original game, as evidenced by job listings that suggest the use of Unreal Engine 5 to deliver life-like visuals and a more immersive open-world RPG experience, sparking speculation among fans about how the developer plans to build upon the foundations of the predecessor.

Cyberpunk 2077 Sequel Aiming for Photorealistic Visuals

A new job listing at CD Projekt Red hints that the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel could have more photorealistic textures. It was a long and complicated road for Cyberpunk 2077, with the game having a notoriously lengthy development cycle followed by one of the most controversial launches in recent memory. In the years since then, CDPR worked to patch up the worst of the many bugs and glitches that plagued Cyberpunk 2077 in the beginning, eventually culminating in the release of the Phantom Liberty DLC last September.

Phantom Liberty would be Cyberpunk 2077's only story-based DLC, and CD Projekt Red announced that it would be moving forward with a full-on sequel instead of expanding on the original further. Ever since the tentatively named "Project Orion" was first revealed in the fall of 2022, fans have been speculating on how this Cyberpunk 2077 follow-up will build on the open-world RPG format of its predecessor. There are plenty of rumors and leaks out in the wild already, but the only thing that is known for sure is that the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel will be built using Unreal Engine 5 by CD Projekt North America.

This could lead to Cyberpunk 2077's eventual sequel having more life-like visuals, and a recent job listing at CD Projekt supports this notion by mentioning more photorealistic textures. More specifically, it calls for a Senior Environment Artist to work with the Environment Team for Project Orion. The candidate would be in charge of "building incredible worlds that players will deep dive into" by creating "high-quality 3D models" and "photorealistic textures" using various tools and middleware.

Cyberpunk 2077 Sequel Explores a Realistic Visual Direction

This seems to imply that CDPR is aiming for a more cinematic look for the next Cyberpunk 2077 title. Another job listing from back in March lends credence to this by asking for a Lead Cinematics Designer who would help make Project Orion look and feel like a blend of film and game. The first Cyberpunk 2077 seemed to aim more toward immersing players in the gritty world of Night City rather than trying to emulate cinema, allowing players to freely move the camera during conversations with NPCs at the price of not having as many cinematic cutscenes.

All signs point to Project Orion shifting toward a more cinematic presentation, and judging from this latest job posting, it might be supplemented by more photorealistic textures. The original Cyberpunk 2077 already did a great job of giving players a gritty, neon-filled futuristic dystopia to explore, and it will be interesting to see how the in-development sequel could add more life-like characters, buildings, and vehicles.