Well, this is a rumor that only CD Projekt Red bears the blame: apparently, Cyberpunk 2—the sequel to poorly-launched-beautifully-recovered Cyberpunk 2077—might have a multiplayer component.
This comes from the Polish publisher’s own social media, as the company published a job posting on X, stating it’s on the lookout for a “Lead Network Engineer” (as per Gamespot). You can check it out below or click here to see it:
A rumor just by some wording on a job post? Can’t Cyberpunk 2 multiplayer mode be a stretch?
While it may look like an exaggeration to scream “MULTIPLAYER OMG OMG” everywhere just because a publisher posted a job opening, it does bear some importance to think about what a “Lead Network Engineer” actually does.
In the world of game development, a Network Engineer is the person responsible for building the infrastructure that allows players to connect with each other. This includes everything from the code that handles online connections to setting up servers and managing data.
That alone doesn’t clarify much, until you realize that “connect with each other” means a number of online things: matchmaking, latency control, ping testing—all of these and so much more multiplayer-related topics can be the responsibility of a Network Team, and a “Lead” position might be the one not only to oversee the team’s job, but also conceptualize it, come up with ideas to create/improve it.
So yeah, that idea might not be that farfetched after all.
Cyberpunk 2077 also flirted with the multiplayer scenario
The rumor about Cyberpunk 2 multiplayer mode holds even more weight when you consider that its previous game, Cyberpunk 2077, did have plans to add something similar before cutting that part entirely. But don’t take my word for it, read it from CD Projekt Red’s CEO, Adam Badowski, himself—he stated as much in 2024, before telling Reuters that the game’s controversial launch on consoles like the PS4, where it was completely bug-ridden to the point of being removed from Sony’s digital store, made the company reconsider and axe the entire thing.
In fact, Cyberpunk 2077 was musing either having multiplayer as a mode within the main game, or a standalone product on its own right.
It’s not like we’ll find out anytime soon, though: CD Projekt Red is notoriously evasive when it comes to news on unreleased projects and, much like Rockstar, they like to be in control of their comms processes.
Cyberpunk 2 was only confirmed to have this name in May this year, so it’s likely the game is still in the early stages of development.
In other words: Cyberpunk 2 release date is still waaaaaay off. And considering the company is all hands on deck with a ton of Witcher-related projects and the Cyberpunk Edgerunners second season on Netflix, we might be waiting for a while.
