Cyberpunk 2077 Director Thinks Recreating Phantom Liberty’s Success Is “Very Achievable”

Gabe Amatangelo, Cyberpunk 2077’s game director believes that the studio is fully capable of attaining Phantom Liberty’s excellence once again. Cyberpunk 2077 had one of the greatest comebacks in gaming history with the Phantom Liberty expansion. With the DLC being a successful venture, CD Projekt Red has now begun to shift its focus to the upcoming sequel codenamed Project Orion. In an interview with Game File, Amatangelo figured that recreating a sensation like Phantom Liberty is “very achievable.”

I think what we did with Phantom Liberty is very achievable.”

How Cyberpunk 2077 Rose From the Abyss Of Failure To Redemption

Gabe Amatangelo joined CDPR in May 2021 and has proven to be one of the main driving forces behind the Cyberpunk redemption arc. I think, that very much owes to his principles as a director and most importantly a leader. The developer revealed that the change they adopted to pull something like Phantom Liberty was to “give everyone more freedom,” allowing them to craft things without worrying “about the game directors checking the box on every little thing.” 

The game director also shared that one of the techniques that worked for them was allowing more mixing between interdisciplinary teams, making everything essentially connected to the main storyline.

My job is just trying to, like, mind meld with everyone and [get] all of us on the same page.”

Although CDPR has multiple controversies regarding crunch and even failed to honor the promise of steering clear of it for Cyberpunk 2077, Amatangelo believes they addressed this issue with Phantom Liberty by regulating working hours and balancing long hours with shorter ones.

Cyberpunkpunk 2077 debuted on December 10, 2020, with a heavily bugged product, earning a massively bad reputation. The game then jumped back into the arena with the Phantom Liberty DLC releasing on September 26, 2023, and can currently be played on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC.