Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty Guide: Start, Specs and Platforms

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is the one paid story expansion for Cyberpunk 2077: a spy-thriller campaign set in a new walled-off district called Dogtown. To play it you need the base game and a current-gen platform (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, or the Ultimate Edition on Mac and Switch 2), and you unlock it by finishing the main mission “Transmission” or by choosing “Skip Ahead to Phantom Liberty” from the main menu.

It is back in the news because it re-entered Steam’s top sellers this week. Below is what you actually get, how to start it, and what hardware you need, as of October 2026.

What Phantom Liberty is

Phantom Liberty launched on September 26, 2023. V is pulled into Dogtown, a lawless district inside Night City, to rescue the President of the New United States after her shuttle is shot down there. Idris Elba plays Solomon Reed, an FIA agent and possible ally, and Keanu Reeves returns as Johnny Silverhand. Songbird, the netrunner who draws V into the plot, is played by Minji Chang.

Beyond the story, the expansion adds:

• Dogtown, a new district with its own quests, gigs and activities.
• A new ending for the overall Cyberpunk 2077 story.
• The Relic skill tree, a set of nine abilities unlocked with Relic points that you earn through the expansion story and find in the world. The tree becomes available very early in the campaign.
• A higher level cap. Wikipedia lists it as 60; some other coverage says 70, so treat the exact number with caution.

Many of the system changes people associate with Phantom Liberty, such as the reworked skill trees, vehicle combat and the new police system, actually came in the free Update 2.0 released alongside it. You get those even without buying the expansion.

Is it popular, or is this a fad?

CD Projekt reported in its first-half 2026 results that Phantom Liberty had passed 15 million copies, up from 10 million in May 2025. That total includes copies sold as part of the Ultimate Edition, not only standalone DLC purchases.

How to start Phantom Liberty

You have two routes. Which one you take depends on whether you have played the base game.

Option 1: Continue an existing save (recommended)

1. Make sure the expansion is installed. On Steam and GOG it appears as a separate DLC entry that has to be downloaded.
2. Load a save from after the main mission Transmission in Act 2. According to Dexerto, CD Projekt Red confirmed that this is the trigger point.
3. Wait for Songbird to call. If your save is well past Transmission, Den of Geek notes that the call may come the next time V sleeps.
4. Accept the mission Dog Eat Dog. That is the start of the expansion.

Saves made after the base game’s ending also work, because the only requirement is having finished Transmission.

Option 2: Skip Ahead to Phantom Liberty

On a new game, the main menu offers “Regular Start” and “Skip Ahead to Phantom Liberty”. The skip option creates a pre-built V with set attributes and perks. You can still change appearance and background, and the game treats earlier main quests as completed.

A CD Projekt Red developer has said new players should start from the beginning, and that is good advice. Skipping cuts out a lot of the context that makes the expansion’s choices matter. Skip Ahead makes most sense if you have already finished the game on another platform or a lost save.

Platforms and editions

If you already own Cyberpunk 2077, buy the expansion on its own. If you own neither, the Ultimate Edition is usually the simpler purchase. Prices vary by store and region and change often during sales, so check the store you plan to buy from rather than relying on a figure from an older deal post.

PC system requirements

Ahead of Phantom Liberty, CD Projekt Red raised the PC requirements, and an SSD is now required even for minimum settings (GameSpot). The game needs about 70 GB of storage.

A few caveats:

• Outlets reprinted the recommended Ryzen CPU in slightly different forms (7800X vs 7800X3D), and the ray tracing tiers differ between reports. Check the official requirements post on GOG before buying hardware for this game.
• GOG’s post also notes that older hardware may still run the game, but CD Projekt Red no longer actively supports configurations below the new minimum.
• If you are still on a hard drive, moving the game to an SSD is the first upgrade to make. Expect long loads and streaming hitches otherwise.

Upscaling and frame generation

Update 2.3 (July 17, 2025) added AMD FSR 4, FSR 3.1 Frame Generation and Intel XeSS 2.0 on PC, plus VRR support on consoles and improved HDR settings (Gematsu). If your card is close to the recommended tier, turning on the upscaler your GPU supports is the easiest way to reach a stable 60 fps at 1080p or 1440p.

What else changed since launch

Update 2.3 was not Phantom Liberty content, but it applies to every current version of the game. It added AutoDrive for owned vehicles, a Delamain taxi service, four new vehicles, and expanded Photo Mode options for weather, time of day, NPCs and poses. The Switch 2 version received the update later than the other platforms. Patches can change features and balance, so details here are accurate as of October 2026.

Quick verdict

If you enjoyed Cyberpunk 2077 and own it on a current-gen platform, Phantom Liberty is widely regarded as the best part of the game: tighter writing, a strong cast and a new ending. Play it from a save after Transmission rather than skipping ahead, make sure the game is on an SSD, and check current pricing in your store before you buy, since it is frequently discounted.