It's no secret that CD Projekt Red put a lot of work into Cyberpunk 2077 (before and after its shaky launch, that is) – but some of what we now commend as brilliant detail in-game stems from the studio's limited resources, believe it or not.
This story contains spoilers for Cyberpunk 2077 – read on at your own risk.
According to lead quest designer Paweł Sasko, anyway, that's the case with Meredith Stout and her dead body, which players can find underwater at the bottom of the bay north of Watson – should they make the decisions that lead to her brutal death, anyway.
You might notice that, if you do come across her corpse, her hair has been shaved off and her feet are cemented in a concrete block. It's (as grim as it is) a pretty cool detail. Fans seem to think so, too, with one's post about it prompting a response from Sasko himself. In it, he explains Stout's appearance there – and a little more about his design process in general.
"I love packing details like this into my quests," he writes. "It often takes time for the players to discover, but the thrill and satisfaction are unforgettable. It shows nobody is safe in Night City, there is always a bigger fish, and stakes are everywhere."
I love packing details like this into my quests, it often takes time for the players to discover, but the thrill and satisfaction are unforgettable. It shows nobody is safe in Night City, there is always a bigger fish, and stakes are everywhere. Her head is shaved, because…June 30, 2026
Sasko then gets into the nitty-gritty of Stout's hair (or lack thereof), saying, "Her head is shaved because rigging and animating hair to gently move underwater was out of available budget." In turn, he had to make something work.
"I had to be scrappy with my design, so I turned it into part of the story. Anthropologically, I liked it, because shaving hair is associated with losing honor, face, and being overshadowed by shame."
He concludes that it's just "one of the examples how limitation sparks creativity." That it certainly is.
It's nothing new for CD Projekt Red, either. I'm immediately reminded of what Sasko previously stated about The Witcher 3 and how the studio faced various setbacks while developing the legendary RPG – it's similar to the Stout situation, if you ask me… and it speaks to the team's resilience.
If something works, it works, and in this case, it worked out pretty dang well.
