The fundamental issue that devs (and RPG makers) need to understand is that the xp approach makes sense in pen and paper games where you don't actually act out any of this stuff. But in a video game you quite literally can do all the things that your character does, so why not go for an actually believable and immersive system? The XP system is an aged relic that needs to be dumped as soon as possible.
I'd still like some measure of growth in my character when it comes to RPG's, and I still think that XP does that well. That feeling of growth is in fact essential to my own experience. I would resent a system where you can quite litteraly do all the things that your character does, straight from the very start.
I'd like my ability to wield a sniper rifle, to either be earned, or come with a trade-off for being very good from the very start, by being deficient in other things I still need to learn.
Actually in CP2020 you got skill points (you could spend to gain/improve skills, and sometimes [at HIGH cost] base character stats) for completing missions, and nada for killing stuff. So the XP system has been added for CP2077 (for some reason).
Now, that seems good to me! Doesn't need to be xp, but any other system by any other name that slowly awards me more skill would suit me.
And since we're allowed a pacifist run, I don't expect kills to be the only source of extra skill either.
Can I go shortly back to swooning over Fallout 2 (FO2), or the likes of the Original Deus Ex or System Shock 2?
In FO2, you could totally create a bad-ass sniper character straight from the very start, who could totally kill the final boss at lvl1. You'd just have to go about finding a sniper rifle and traveling the distance towards the boss.
Only problem was that you'd be deficient in other things that you'd be wise to learn in the course of a longer game, like being able to pick the lock on the room the Sniper Rifle was held in, or learning survival skills that'd allow you to travel long distances. Those skills would come from gaining the levels necessary to have points to invest in that. Not to mention that the Sniper Rifle itself would also require the necessary training.
Stats like agility were pretty much set in stone, but could be increased at a heavy cost.
You could also create an awesome smooth-talker who could avoid a fair amount of combat. The game would reward you for passing skill checks and completing missions with xp too, without needing to kills stuff for it. They'd just also be deficient in other fields they'd need to build up.
Your character would have levels and xp to signify that growth, but none of the enemies in FO2 had levels. They'd just look increasingly scary. It's an awesome system that I believe the Vampire Masquarade series had as well.
None of what I've read thus far has completely precluded the possibility of Cyberpunk 2077 from having these kinds of systems, so I maintain good hopes.