Of all things we expected to return in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2, Soulkiller wasn't one of them. The experimental technology, designed to store a person's consciousness digitally, was first introduced on a widespread scale to audiences as part of V.'s mind-melding time with Johnny Silverhand in Cyberpunk 2077.
But it may have been a while since you walked down those streets in Night City. To help, we'll be a good choom and give you a refresher, not only on what Soulkiller is in Cyberpunk, but also its importance in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2 and the dystopian sci-fi franchise as a whole.
If you've already watched all 10 preem episodes, we have a guide on the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2 ending. If not, the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2 review might whet your appetite.
What is Soulkiller and why is it so important?
In short, Soulkiller is a program created by Alt Cunningham to copy the minds and memories of dead people, then transfer those entities – known as engrams – onto biochip devices such as Arasaka's Relic. It was originally intended for commercial use, though Arasaka used it for more nefarious purposes, 'killing' and storing the biochip data of their enemies, such as noted revolutionary Johnny Silverhand.
But the megacorp didn't stop there. Its experimentation and research led it to develop Relic 2.0, a means to take someone's engram and transplant it into a living being.
Most famously, the player's V. in Cyberpunk 2077 is able to use Soulkiller during the majority of the Cyberpunk endings to either split V. and Johnny's minds or for Johnny to fulfil Soulkiller's intended purpose and to take over V.'s body for good.
As of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2 – which we believe to be set after the game in around 2078 or 2079 on the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners timeline – the Soulkiller being brought out of the shadows has led to an arms race among corps. Chief among them, as far as we know, is Kang Tao, an emerging corporate power that created its own version of Soulkiller for its own ends.
It is also revealed that Arasaka created the Capri program. Born out of the Soulkiller idea, this Blackwall-style AI is a superweapon. The key difference between Capri and Soulkiller, though, is that Capri is an amalgamation of multiple engrams, instead of just one.
Soulkiller, then, is so important because it is able to 'wipe' a person completely – but then be used for a corporation's own goals for an entirely different purpose. An invisible puppet on the streets of Night City is a powerful thing, and it's a little wonder that the power players want in on the action, especially given how Capri is shown to be a far more evolved concept in terms of scope and power in Edgerunners season 2.
Soulkiller in Cyberpunk 2077
In Cyberpunk 2077, the player first comes into contact with Soulkiller when they acquire the Relic during a heist on Arasaka Tower. V's friend Jackie inserts the Relic into his own head, but soon succumbs to his injuries. He hands the chip to V., who puts it in their own neural slot – but they are shot and seemingly killed by fixer Dexter DeShawn, who helped put the Arasaka job together.
But that's not the end of the story. Far from it. The Relic's biochip data is able to rewire V. and save their life, but at a cost: they have to share their consciousness with Johnny Silverhand, an engram of a rockstar-turned-revolutionary (played by Keanu Reeves) who fell at Arasaka Tower decades prior, with his consciousness stored/trapped on the biochip by Arasaka.
Soulkiller later comes into sharp focus during the myriad choices the player can make during the Cyberpunk 2077 finale.
They range from gifting Arasaka the Relic and putting their engram in the corp's hands or splitting V. and Johnny Silverhand into two separate engrams – with the final choice being who should 'take over' V.'s body, and who should live on as AI past the Blackwall.
Soulkiller in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2 (spoilers within)
Soulkiller is present throughout Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2, with the first instance being the opening episode's heist on Arasaka to steal a chip – one that houses the construct 'Capri'.
We later find out Capri is the result of various attempts by Arasaka to house an AI in a living being, similar to the OG Soulkiller.
Elsewhere, not only are the events of Cyberpunk 2077 alluded to in the Afterlife bar during a conversation between King and Meshuga, but Arasaka's position has clearly weakened with the reveal that Kang Tao has put together its own version of Soulkiller. King and Avida attempt to transfer Talia's consciousness into a new body using the Kang Tao tech, but are unable to when the body they steal is riddled with bullets, forcing them into a new plan to save their daughter.
As of the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2 ending, Arasaka aims to cover up the existence of Capri, but it is restored fully in D.'s neural slot, its whereabouts unknown.
Need answers to more burning questions? We have guides on the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 timeline here, as well as whether Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2 is a direct sequel to season 1.
