At first glance, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2's timeline is hard to pin down. There isn't exactly a calendar floating around in the background of various scenes, nor are there any dates mentioned in dialogue.
But there are plenty of clues to help us give educated guesses, as well as some cryptic words from the show's creator, Bartosz Sztybor to help you sleuth your way to an answer. So, join us as we break down the likely year Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2 takes place in – and whether it's set before or after Cyberpunk 2077.
For more, we have a guide on whether Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2 is a sequel to season 1, and a collection of the best anime on Netflix.
What year is Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2 set in?
One thing we know for sure is the events of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2 take place after the events of season 1.
Dialogue in both that season and in Cyberpunk 2077 (which refer to David Martinez meeting one of the fixers a year prior to the game) narrows season 1's year down to around 2076.
So, from there, we can surmise that Edgerunners season 2 is set in at least 2077, especially given how characters talk about the events of the first season with enough distance for it to have passed into urban legend on the streets of Night City. D. even says in the finale that David's actions were a "while back", suggesting that it's at least a few years since season 1. But if you dig a little deeper, it appears to even go beyond the events of Cyberpunk 2077.
Our best guess right now is around 2078 or 2079. There are a few pieces of evidence pointing us in that direction, too – namely, the use of Soulkiller.
Episode 6 sees a reference to the events of Cyberpunk 2077 and Johnny Silverhand's soul being melded with V using the same system that eventually finds its way into D.'s head.
It is also noted in episode 1 that Arasaka "seems to be taking more hits than ever," causing a slight power shift towards plucky upstarts Kung Tao and their duplication of Soulkiller. Remember, before Cyberpunk 2077, that system was largely seen as dead forever. Now, it's in the light – and being used out in the open.
No matter your Cyberpunk 2077 ending choice, there's a good chance that means the corporation suffered a major blow after V's attack on its HQ in the finale – and those ramifications are felt in Edgerunners season 2.
From a story POV, it is also unlikely that much of season 2's finale (and we'll keep it vague here, in case you haven't seen it yet) wouldn't have been mentioned in Cyberpunk 2077, such was the scale of devastation out in the Badlands.
Curiously, showrunner/creator Bartosz Sztybor tells us revealing which year Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is set in would constitute a "spoiler", but the answers – as we've dived into above – are in the show if you look hard enough.
"There are things in the story that will have the answer to your question," Sztybor says. "But I don't want to make the statement that it's [definitively] before or after 2077."
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2 timeline
So, the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners timeline and key events in the franchise looks like this by our estimation (but dates can change and be shifted around as soon as CD Projekt Red confirms more):
- Johnny Silverhand dies (2023)
- Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 1/David's death (2076)
- V. attacks Arasaka/Cyberpunk 2077 ending (2077)
- Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2 (~2078/2079 - not confirmed)
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