Should you kill or spare Songbird in Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty?

Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty spare or kill Songbird in Cynosure bunker core
(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

For the Phantom Liberty kill or spare Songbird choice, you've got to decide what fate you'll leave your dying netrunner ally to - the sweet release of death or a lifetime of service as a weapon of the NUSA. As for V and Reed, this is all about finishing your mission and siding with President Myers or granting So Mi her wish to die. Since this decision comes right at the end of one of the expansion’s story paths, it determines the ending you’ll get to your Phantom Liberty playthrough, and even whether you can get the new ending for the main Cyberpunk 2077 story. Here are the consequences for choosing to either kill or spare Songbird in Phantom Liberty.

There are big spoilers below as this is the final choice in the ‘Help Reed’ path of Phantom Liberty!

Phantom Liberty kill or spare So Mi choice explained

Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty final choice spare or kill Songbird in Cynosure bunker core

(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

If you go down the path of helping Reed capture Songbird during the Firestarter mission, you’ll later have to choose between killing or sparing Songbird when you find her at death’s door in the Cynosure bunker core. As mentioned, this is the final choice of this path and therefore determines your Phantom Liberty ending, so here are the outcomes for both choices:

Kill Songbird in Phantom Liberty

Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty endings kill So Mi option in Cynosure bunker core

(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

By choosing to kill Songbird, you grant her wish to die, freeing her from the pain of the Blackwall’s corruption and having to work for the FIA and President Myers as a netrunning weapon. Shortly after you unplug So Mi and she dies, Reed arrives and you all drive to the border of Night City to meet Myers.

Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty endings President Myers in her aerial vehicle

(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

President Myers is not best pleased with your work as an FIA operative. You have the option to shake her hand, though this only affects V’s response – you’re already in Myers’ bad books so a courteous handshake isn’t getting you out of this mess. You have a tense conversation with her, about the events of Phantom Liberty, then she goes to leave. At this point, you can say “Rosalind, wait” which allows you to ask about help with the Relic. Rosalind reminds you that you failed to bring Songbird in alive and therefore there’s no reason why the FIA should help you, though she does give you a pathetic reward of 5,000 Eurodollars.

After a chat with Reed, the credits roll (which you can skip) and you end up back in V’s apartment talking to Johnny. From here, you get a new mission called “Four Score and Seven” which tasks you with meeting Reed in the Dogtown basketball court. Here he’ll tell you that you failed as an FIA-associated agent and that he blames you for Songbird and Alex being dead. However, he does admit that you were probably right to kill Songbird and is thankful that he feels he can live as though he has nothing to lose. With the conversation over, you are done with Phantom Liberty’s main story and can carry on with side activities in Dogtown and the main story.

Spare Songbird in Phantom Liberty

Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty endings spared Songbird with Reed

(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

The option to spare Songbird isn’t immediately available at first, so when you’re first presented with a choice when talking to Songbird in the Cynosure bunker core, choose the “That’s no solution” line. You’ll then get to choose to spare her with two different dialogue options. By sparing So Mi, you ignore her wish to die, and she tells you you’re leaving her to a fate worse than death. Reed then reaches the Cynosure core and drives you all to the Night City border to drop Songbird off to Myers.

Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty endings President Myers giving V a medal

(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

Since you succeeded in your mission and brought So Mi back alive, President Myers is pleased with your work and even offers you an NUSA medal. You can decline or accept the medal, though I’ve not been able to do anything with the medal aside from keep it in my backpack. Myers also tells you that Reed will fill you in on the help the NUSA can provide for the Relic. Later you’ll get 30,000 Eurodollars as a reward too.

As in the other option, you talk to Reed, the credits roll, and then you end up back in V’s apartment talking to Johnny. The “Four Score and Seven” mission will pop up, allowing you to meet with Reed in the Dogtown basketball court where he tells you that So Mi could not be cured of the Blackwall’s corruption using the Neural Matrix but will live. After discussing the events of Phantom Liberty some more, you’ll end your debrief with Reed and can then pursue the new Cyberpunk 2077 ending in the “Who Wants To Live Forever” mission. Otherwise, Dogtown and the rest of Cyberpunk 2077 remain open for you to play.

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Will Sawyer
Guides Writer

Will Sawyer is a guides writer at GamesRadar+ who works with the rest of the guides team to give readers great information and advice on the best items, how to complete a particular challenge, or where to go in some of the biggest video games. Will joined the GameRadar+ team in August 2021 and has written about service titles, including Fortnite, Destiny 2, and Warzone, as well as some of the biggest releases like Halo Infinite, Elden Ring, and God of War Ragnarok.