Night City in Cyberpunk 2077: what is it based on?

Night City is a fictional city, not a real one: Mike Pondsmith created it for the Cyberpunk tabletop role-playing game, and Cyberpunk 2077 brought it to life. In the game's world, Night City sits on the coast of California, between San Francisco and Los Angeles, as an independent free city surrounded by the Free State of Northern California. Its look and mood are based on Los Angeles, Blade Runner and 1980s cyberpunk fiction such as William Gibson's novels.

Real-world and fictional influences

• Los Angeles and the West Coast: sprawling districts, freeways, the Badlands desert outside the city and the Pacific shore.
• Blade Runner: neon, rain, megacorporate towers and street-level poverty.
• 1980s cyberpunk fiction: corporations stronger than governments, cybernetic implants and hackers.
• Asian megacities: dense signage, markets and corporate culture.

The city's backstory

In the lore, Night City was founded by businessman Richard Night as a clean, corporate-planned city. After his assassination, gangs and corporations took over. In 2023 (in the setting's timeline), a nuclear bomb went off in Arasaka Tower during the corporate war, an event at the center of Johnny Silverhand's story.

Districts in Cyberpunk 2077

City Center, Watson, Westbrook, Heywood, Santo Domingo, Pacifica, the Badlands, and Dogtown, added in the Phantom Liberty expansion.

FAQ

Where is Night City in real life?

It does not exist. In the game's world, it sits on the Northern California coast, roughly between San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Why is it called Night City?

It is named after its founder, Richard Night, whose murder in the lore marked the end of his vision of a safe, planned city.

Is Night City independent?

Yes. It is a free city, officially independent of the surrounding states, though corporations hold the real power.

What was the Night City Holocaust?

It is the lore name for the 2023 nuclear explosion in Arasaka Tower during the Fourth Corporate War. The bomb was relatively small, but it devastated the city center, which was later rebuilt.