Although CD Projekt Red only showed gameplay from Cyberpunk 2077 to journalists, the game’s story trailer was one of the biggest reveals of E3; offering fans their first proper look at the game since the first trailer was released at E3 five years ago. Snippets of information have been steadily emerging about the title since, and among them is the news that Cyberpunk 2077‘s romance options will be much more varied than those of The Witcher.

Romance in Cyberpunk 2077

Romance played a major role in The Witcher. However, there were only two main love interests in the series; Yennefer and Triss. While Geralt could engage in the occasional illicit tryst (Keira Metz, Shani, etc.), the largest romantic sub-plots were those surrounding Yen and Triss. Rather than necessarily being a choice on the part of The Witcher’s designers, that structure was largely determined by the source material. CD Projekt Red’s games are based heavily on the Witcher novels written by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski; the character of Geralt and his relationships in the game are all informed by that original content.

CD Projekt Red has already revealed that Cyberpunk 2077 will feature character customization. That customization will allow players to play as male or female versions of the protagonist, “V”. With a blank slate character rather than a pre-existing one; the writers of Cyberpunk 2077 should have much more freedom to create romantic options. Geralt’s sexuality, for instance, was entirely defined by his character from the original novels. V, on the other hand, has no such predefined personality. Thus, it seems likely that Cyberpunk 2077 will feature multiple potential romance-able characters of different genders. (Much like Bioware RPGs such as Mass Effect and Dragon Age.)

A Lot More Options

“Similar to the Witcher, but with more diversity;” described Patrick Mills, the game’s quest designer, “There are a lot more options. You know, you’re defining your own character here, which means defining their sexuality any way you want. With Geralt, you had a character whose sexuality was very well defined by the novels and the short stories and the previous games. But in this one, it’s up to you to decide. We’ve got NPCs that are gay, we’ve got NPCs that are bi, we’ve got NPCs that are straight, because we want them to feel real and that they have preferences as well.”

It’s unknown as of yet how big a part romance will play in Cyberpunk’s story. It could be argued that romance in The Witcher was a separate sub-plot; it certainly informed a great deal about Geralt’s interactions with Yennefer and Triss throughout the games, however. If CD Projekt Red takes similar cues for the plot of Cyberpunk, it will be interesting indeed to see how romance affects how the story plays out. Mills added that; “We’re aiming for big, complicated relationships that continue over the course of the game, but also casual encounters that don’t matter that much,”