I know V's name is either Valerie or Vincent, but imagine if the player's character did that because they were a fan of V or something, but you get to choose one of the 26 letters of the alphabet.
I don't think they'll go the single letter route again. Would be a bit cliche to simply repeat that design.
It's likely that the new protagonist will still utilize a nickname of some type though. As it cuts down on the need to record lines twice to feature distinct names for Male/Female characters and is common practice among games that are fully voiced (Usually with something like a title such as "Grey Warden" in DA:O and "Wanderer" in Fallout, a surname such as "Shepard" in ME or a nickname like "Rook" in DA:VG).
In the same vein, there likely won't be any "Choosing" of this nickname for the same reason. Recording multiple versions of lines just to enable a character to call your character something slightly different is a lot of work (And money) for very little benefit. (I know some people want developers to embrace AI to enable such things... But that's a massive can of worms to open)
Of course, it's not impossible for them to do something different. For example, AC: Odyssey had the male/female protagonist as separate characters with unique names (Kassandra and Alexios) and slightly different stories. Though I doubt this because of CP2077's ability to mix and match body type and voices, enabling trans characters. It not being possible in the sequel would upset some people.
It's likely that the new protagonist will still utilize a nickname of some type though. As it cuts down on the need to record lines twice to feature distinct names for Male/Female characters and is common practice among games that are fully voiced (Usually with something like a title such as "Grey Warden" in DA:O and "Wanderer" in Fallout, a surname such as "Shepard" in ME or a nickname like "Rook" in DA:VG).
In the same vein, there likely won't be any "Choosing" of this nickname for the same reason. Recording multiple versions of lines just to enable a character to call your character something slightly different is a lot of work (And money) for very little benefit. (I know some people want developers to embrace AI to enable such things... But that's a massive can of worms to open)
Of course, it's not impossible for them to do something different. For example, AC: Odyssey had the male/female protagonist as separate characters with unique names (Kassandra and Alexios) and slightly different stories. Though I doubt this because of CP2077's ability to mix and match body type and voices, enabling trans characters. It not being possible in the sequel would upset some people.
You are probably going to be proven right in the future. However Games HAVE used (to a limited degree) multiple names for the player character such as in Fallout with the butler robot and to a lesser degree in oblivion in the Arena. Plus like it or not AI is coming to games, it is inevitable. It is already in your office software bugging us like good old MS word clippy did in his day.
And as for repeating design, lol how many dozens of times (not just Bethesda) have we started as prisoners in games?
Last edited:
Seems to be one of the most important tools in every game dev's starter kit.
As for names, in CP2 I advocate for our character being designated by a number rather than a name. Either some seemingly random number that has everybody guessing at its significance, or else 43.
No, I meant 42, but I'm an idiot and misremembered it as 43.or 47?
Honestly, I really like the idea of using a number instead of a traditional name for the player character. It would feel incredibly fitting for a dystopian or anarcho-cyberpunk setting. Something like "Test Subject 2314", "Unit 88", or even a cold designation like "Registry Entry 04-7C" could add a lot of narrative flavor.
What’s more, it could open the door to some interesting character development. Imagine starting the game as just another numbered asset, lost in the system, and part of your personal arc is reclaiming your identity — choosing a name, a persona, maybe even rejecting your designation entirely. That would tie gameplay and story together in a really immersive way.
It’s also a clever workaround for the voice acting challenge — NPCs could just refer to you by number or codename until you reach a turning point. Then maybe just one or two names are selectable later, tied to narrative choices, kind of like a reward for shaping your own path.
Definitely a route I hope the devs consider, especially since CP2077 already flirted with themes of self-definition and identity.
What’s more, it could open the door to some interesting character development. Imagine starting the game as just another numbered asset, lost in the system, and part of your personal arc is reclaiming your identity — choosing a name, a persona, maybe even rejecting your designation entirely. That would tie gameplay and story together in a really immersive way.
It’s also a clever workaround for the voice acting challenge — NPCs could just refer to you by number or codename until you reach a turning point. Then maybe just one or two names are selectable later, tied to narrative choices, kind of like a reward for shaping your own path.
Definitely a route I hope the devs consider, especially since CP2077 already flirted with themes of self-definition and identity.
A nice spin might be that the character gets a nickname in the tutorial. Perhaps a selection of 5 or so different ones. It will be received based on how and why they make the choices they make for that first "mission" or whatever it is. Then, the other characters will refer to them by that nickname for the rest of the game. (The challenge would be coming up with a list of equally nuanced nicknames.)
I would like to play as a predefined character for a change.
V wasn't very well defined, especially his/her past and personality.
To make it more interesting, I would like both the game and the new main character to bring a new perspective on the cyberpunk world.
Give the character something what it (dis)likes, (not) fears, wants (not) to achieve,...contacts, friends, enemies, equipment...right from the beginning.
I would like it to move away from the CDPR's favorite path of being a neutral merc for hire.
V wasn't very well defined, especially his/her past and personality.
To make it more interesting, I would like both the game and the new main character to bring a new perspective on the cyberpunk world.
Give the character something what it (dis)likes, (not) fears, wants (not) to achieve,...contacts, friends, enemies, equipment...right from the beginning.
I would like it to move away from the CDPR's favorite path of being a neutral merc for hire.
I'd hardly call the singular title they've made where they didn't use a pre-defined character their "Favourite Path"
Literally, their Witcher titles were all based on Geralt. Who was not only pre-defined, but wasn't even an original character (He was in Witcher books before the games were made)
CP2077 was CDPR's first time having a player defined character - Even then, there was still quite a lot of definition to V compared to most blank slate characters. Both having a background (Chosen by the life path) as well as having a somewhat distinct personality (You had some options in dialogue, but the overarching character has its own personality, you just nudge your interactions certain directions)
Compared to something like Tav in BG3 where you have nothing. No background (Besides "Baldurian" though with no specifics just "You grew up in Baldur's Gate"), no personality, no any definition at all and just a bunch of generic dialogue options. It's night and day. It's why V is a popular character, with many people wishing they could continue to play as V in subequent games.
Truth be told, I have played only Witcher 3, so I can opinionate only about that.
My W3's Geralt impression is he was portrayed as a neutral merc for hire much more than in the books. He would hardly ever work for Nilfgaard, even if the job was to find Ciri (he didn't in the books), he would probably kill Baron's men, perhaps he wouldn't make a deal with the Crones,...
CP77 is the same about that, in my opinion. V is a neutral merc who deals with literally anyone - NUSA, NC mayor, VBs and Netwatch, nomads, sex toys, AIs, Arasaka,...
I would assume V being a merc from NC would close more than half of the contacts and jobs just because of that.
I see this as a CDPR's game design principle rather than a one-time thing. However, I have played only two of their games and I would happily like to be proven wrong
Last edited:
Hard to tell, though they might go for something else that's equally gender flexible (for example SAMantha or SAMuel).
Honestly, I hope to the very least some reference to V is made on Cyberpunk "orion". I know this would likely mean canonising one of the endings from the 2077, but that personally doesn't bother me. It worked fine for Deus Ex Human Revolution and Mankind Divided. Even if it's some kind of line about a "Legendary Merc from Night City who spoke to dead rock star".
Personally I wouldn't be opposed having V back in the game. Maybe fixing the engram messed up some of cyber upgrades and that's why we got to build back up, though I get that wouldn't be to everyone's taste.
I wonder if they're grab more celebrity actors to be characters.
Honestly, I hope to the very least some reference to V is made on Cyberpunk "orion". I know this would likely mean canonising one of the endings from the 2077, but that personally doesn't bother me. It worked fine for Deus Ex Human Revolution and Mankind Divided. Even if it's some kind of line about a "Legendary Merc from Night City who spoke to dead rock star".
Personally I wouldn't be opposed having V back in the game. Maybe fixing the engram messed up some of cyber upgrades and that's why we got to build back up, though I get that wouldn't be to everyone's taste.
I wonder if they're grab more celebrity actors to be characters.
The name of the character really isn't important in the end. It's going to add a lot of unnecessary work for the developers. If for instance CDPR want the different installments in the Universe to reference each other to a greater or lesser degree, they'd want to avoid things like this. In the next game they could make references to "V" very easily, but if everyone get to choose a name it makes thing more complicated.
They already have enough problems making the world coherent and consistent for all players now that millions of players have made different choices for their V, and many of these players are very attached to that particular ending. They have to find a way around that if they want to reference certain events from Cyberpunk 2077 in the next game.
And I'm sure they will. By the looks of it, they're literally doing exactly that for Witcher 4. Witcher3 game had multiple endings, but evidently the ending which Ciri becomes a Witcher is now the correct one.
I've got 3 different saves, one of each origin story, and have seen most endings now. Yes I have a favourite and one which I believe feels more "correct" but it's ok if I'm wrong. For me V is a male streetkid who took on Arasaka by himself. In my head canon that's the best story. I also liked Nomad V leaving NC with Panam, but corpo V... It's not bad, just didn't feel as potent in my head.
CDPR might think something completely different and that's great. I will play the second game regardless.
The difference being that Geralt and Ciri aren't CDPR's Original characters. They existed before the games in the books and continued to exist outside of the games in even more books.
Thus these characters and their overall lives were already set in stone by this other media that featured them.
With CP2077, this is not the case. While there is other media from the same IP (CDPR hasn't made their own IP as of yet. Their very first unique IP is currently being developed, so far codenamed project "Hadar"), none of it includes any characters from 2077.
So everyone in the game, V, Panam, Judy, River, Alt, Johnny, Takemura, So Mi, Rosalin Myers, Kurt Hansen etc. All have only this game determining their stories.
I agree on the technicalities, but that still doesn't stop them from having their own official canon. Worked for the Deus Ex franchise if you ask me, albeit sure the choices weren't as in depth as CP.
In any way, there are simple ways of making reference to V in the future without alluding to any of the choices, like I said "legendary Merc from NC that had a talking ghost of a rockstar in their brain, went silent after some major event". That literally encompasses every possible outcome.
Using a singular letter as a name is either a Men in Black or James Bond reference I think.
Interesting theory!I think it was simply a way of creating a coined name for the main character that was genderless, flavorless, defining without being characterizing, but still sounded slick. (Much better than calling the character "U" or "N" or "CC" or "Z-Choom"). It also ensured dialogues did not need any form of customization for player-name conventions, keeping recordings universal for NPCs regardless of player character sex, occupation, situation, etc.
But now, I will forever think of whether "V" could have been a super-secret code name given to the character for something that has yet to be revealed...
Doing it again would be repetitive, they have to give us a full name this time around
It could be handled exactly the way Mass Effect handled "Shepard", as well. Just a last name or callsign that can be used universally.
Last edited: