The world of Cyberpunk 2077 and Edgerunners returns to tabletop in new TCG

Better play your cards right, choom

CD Projekt Red and Weird Co. have announced an official Cyberpunk trading card game, titled Cyberpunk TCG, with a hype trailer that went live Dec. 9 — just in time for the Cyberpunk 2077 five-year anniversary.

While Weird Co. hasn’t gotten into specifics about mechanics and gameplay just yet, it seems like each deck might have a leading Legend who must build up a crew of Units. Those are augmented by Gear cards. Along the way, the crew gains Street Cred and completes Gigs.

“I can’t wait for players to see how we’ve adapted the themes of Cyberpunk, like taking on gigs or building a crew, to a trading card game format,” Weird Co. co-founder Luohan Wei told IGN. “I think it is both true to Cyberpunk itself while being innovative to the TCG market as a whole; it’s a perfect combination in this way.”

The trailer opens with a sizzle reel of Night City from Cyberpunk 2077 before a rollout of cards is put on display, while clips featuring the counterparts from 2077 roll.

We see a few units that should be familiar to Cyberpunk 2077 players, namely Psycho Squad, Offduty Malfini, and Swordwise Huscle, each with unique abilities that interact with other cards. Then we see a few different Gear cards: Mantis Blades, Kiroshi Optics, and Mandibular Upgrade.

Legends revealed include Jackie Welles, Mama’s Favorite and Judy Alvarez, Nothing to Doubt. But in another shot we also see Saburo Arasaka, Stubborn Patriarch; V, Corporate Exile; and Goro Takemura, Hands Unclean.

One fun bit in the video happens when the V, Corporate Exile and Dying Light gear card for V’s pistol combine, then we see a clip of V using Dying Light in 2077.

If there was any doubt whatsoever, Cyberpunk TCG takes place during and leans heavily on the aesthetics and characters of Cyberpunk 2077. But the final shot of the trailer notes that anyone who signs up for the game’s launch oracle page can get a free Lucyna Kushinada card. Lucy, of course, is the heroine from the 2022 Netflix animated series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, which means that the scope of the TCG goes beyond just adapting 2077. Maybe we’ll see tie-ins to the comics from Dark Horse or deeper parts of the original TTRPG’s lore?

“CD Projekt Red is a company with a lot of trading card game DNA already given their history with Gwent, and that makes them a fantastic partner for this project,” Weird Co. co-founder Luohan Wei told Polygon via email. “We're passionate about the human connection that is inherent in TCG communities. That means making a handcrafted product without AI, and putting local communities and local game stores at the center of our company strategy.”

Elliot Cook and Luohan Wei founded Weird Co. earlier this year — and announced it last month — after meeting through mutual friend and mentor Bill Mooney. They’ve brought together designers from Marvel Snap, Duel Masters, and Universus to work on the new game in close collaboration with CD Projekt Red.

"CD Projekt Red has a similar goal, and when we saw this in each other we knew it would be a great partnership,” Cook told IGN. “What has been paramount, and the question we ask ourselves daily, is ‘how do we make a game that represents and celebrates every part of Cyberpunk — everywhere it has been and everywhere it is going?’ That is the north star of our development."

CDPR’s Franchise Content Strategy Lead Patrick Mills also confirmed to IGN that the core identity for the initial Cyberpunk TCG release is to focus on Cyberpunk 2077.

“We’ve collaborated closely with Weird Co to ensure that the artwork and flavor of every card faithfully captures the essence of who they represent, providing a snapshot of their personalities and what they stand for, as well as including memorable moments players will instantly recognize,” said Mills. “Given the complexity of our characters, we wanted to capture their many facets across multiple cards. So, players can look forward to collecting an array of unique variants of characters including V, Johnny, Panam, Judy, Adam Smasher, and more."

Wake up samurai, we’ve got a deck to build.