Cyberpunk: Edgerunners vs Cyberpunk 2077: 8 Similarities & Differences

David Martinez and V – the playable character in 2077 – have similar first experiences of life as a mercenary. For one, both of them end up in a notorious bar known as the Afterlife.

Named because the site used to be a morgue, the Afterlife is an underground bar frequented by mercenaries and fixers, serving as a place for criminals to sit back and relax.

In the game, Afterlife serves as a crucial meeting point that is visited regularly by V. However, in Edgerunners, the bar is only given brief cameo appearances.

As is explained in further detail below, not many characters appear in both Edgerunners and 2077. However, one that does is Falco, a late addition to David’s crew in the anime.

Falco is one of the few characters that survives events in Edgerunners. However, he soon leaves that life behind, seemingly never to be heard from again.

While Falco doesn’t actually appear in 2077, he is the person who messages V once they start asking around about David Martinez. Falco is the one that helps V get David’s Jacket, a new item introduced in 2077 just before the anime’s release.

People who have played Cyberpunk 2077 will have instantly recognised the apartment that David lived in with his mother. It is an almost perfect replica of the apartment used by the player in the 2077 game.

It is not the same apartment exactly – David lived in a block that is inaccessible to players in 2077. However, both David and V's apartments have identical layouts.

In fact, almost all locations in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners are modelled exactly on the game’s world. Almost every place is discoverable by name and location, which has led to a lot of fun for 2077 players!

One crucial element of Cyberpunk 2077 is fixers – well-connected individuals that bridge the gap between rich corporations and the street-dwelling mercs that do their dirty work.

One of the fixers that appear in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is Wakako Okada – David Martinez speaks to her once he has become the leader of his crew. For V in 2077, Okada is one of the first fixers you interact with regularly, providing many of their early jobs.

Much of the story in Edgerunners revolves around the Sandevistan, David’s mechanical spine that gives him incredible speed, at a cost to his health.

While the Sandevistan appears to be a rarity in Edgerunners, the system is slightly more common in the world of 2077. There are dozens of different Sandevistans and variants available to V in the videogame, which allow the player to slow down time for a small period.

One of the biggest connections between Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and 2077 is Adam Smasher, the hulking cyborg working for the Arasaka corporation.

Adam Smasher is not just David Martinez’s final opponent in the anime. After events in Edgerunners and 2077, Adam Smasher climbs the ranks and also becomes V’s final opponent in the video game one year later!

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is very faithful to the world of 2077, so there are not many differences. The biggest difference is probably the characters that appear in Edgerunners.

Despite only being set one year apart, and excluding David Martinez’s drink, almost none of the main characters in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners have any mark in 2077. Lucy, Rebecca, Kiwi, Maine and Dorio are all notable characters that appear to be anime exclusives.

This may not be a true difference, but might be upsetting for fans of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.

In 2077, the moon is a habitable place with major cities and commerce. However, players cannot travel to the moon in the videogame. For now, it’s impossible for players to fulfil David and Lucy’s dream, although maybe CD Projekt Red will change that given Edgerunner’s success!