Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is a cyberpunk original net animated miniseries based on the video game Cyberpunk 2077 by Polish studio CD Projekt Red. Produced by the Japanese animation studio Trigger under the supervision of CD Projekt, it premiered on Netflix in September 2022. Set in the Cyberpunk universe created by Mike Pondsmith, the anime serves as a prequel to the game and takes place about a year before the events of Cyberpunk 2077.
Upon its release, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners received critical acclaim, with praise directed at its characters, animation, and worldbuilding. In October 2022, CD Projekt initially announced that the anime would not be receiving a second season and stated that, while it was open to collaborating with Trigger for future projects, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners had been planned as a standalone work. However, in September 2024, Netflix had released a teaser regarding a collaboration between Netflix Animation, CD Projekt, and Cyberpunk 2077, stating a "return to Night City". A standalone sequel series, titled Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2, was announced in July 2025.

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Premise

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is set in Night City, a self-reliant metropolis located in the former state of California that suffers from extensive corruption, cybernetic addiction, and gang violence. The city is split into six districts, each of which has its own precise living requirements, and is controlled by several megacorporations, including Arasaka and its rival Militech. The anime's story is primarily set in Santo Domingo, the oldest, poorest, and most industrial district of Night City, and takes place in 2076. The story follows an impulsive but talented street kid named David Martinez, who, after losing everything he has in a drive-by shooting, chooses to survive on the wrong side of the law as an "edgerunner": a high-tech, black-market mercenary also known as a "cyberpunk".

Characters

;David Martinez
;Lucyna "Lucy" Kushinada
;Maine
;Dorio
;Pilar
;Kiwi
;Falco
;Rebecca
;Faraday
;Adam Smasher
;Ripperdoc "Doc"
;Gloria Martinez

Production and release

The series was announced during a "Night City Wire" livestream for the game on June 25, 2020, as a collaboration between CD Projekt and Trigger. Hiroyuki Imaishi directed the series, with Masahiko Otsuka and Yoshiki Usa writing scripts, Yoh Yoshinari designing the characters and serving as animation director, Yuto Kaneko and Yusuke Yoshigaki serving as assistant character designers, Hiroyuki Kaneko serving as assistant director, Hiromi Wakabayashi serving as creative director, and Akira Yamaoka serving as the show's composer. The anime's opening theme is "This Fffire" by Franz Ferdinand, while its ending theme is "Let You Down" by Dawid Podsiadło. Edgerunners also utilized songs from 2077s in-game radio stations. Rosa Walton's song "I Really Want to Stay at Your House" was featured prominently and critically praised. Aniplex released the series on a Blu-ray Disc set on May 28, 2025.

Reception

In its first week, the show debuted on Netflix's top ten list, with 14.88 million hours of viewing. Its success helped increase the sales of Cyberpunk 2077 to 20 million units.

Critical reception

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners was acclaimed by critics and fans.
Jonathon Wilson wrote for Ready Steady Cut that in "many ways, this is the Cyberpunk story the Cyberpunk game wanted to tell and couldn't." Matt Kim of IGN praised the exploration of the hostile life in Night City, specifically the visual effects, noting more of the focus was on the city rather than on some of the characters, and calling it "a wild ride, but worth every blistering second". In a review for Polygon, Kambole Campbell praised the "visual language for various in-game concepts," as well as the "sonic diversity in its score" and found that the show's best aspect was " ability to depict the psychological unmooring of its characters without feeling inauthentic."
Video game director Hideo Kojima lauded the series, calling it "a miracle of squeezing the trigger to the world", and compared the art and world design favorably to the 1990 OVA series Cyber City Oedo 808. Mike Pondsmith, the creator of the original Cyberpunk role-playing game also praised the show, writing "It's like seeing my brain in a big screen anime." The publisher of the tabletop Cyberpunk game, R. Talsorian, announced plans for an Edgerunners-based expansion in November 2022.

Future

In an interview with Famitsu, CDPR community manager Satoru Honma said that no plans exist for a second season of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners but that if ever there would be, it would not be a continuation of the first season but "something completely different."
On September 19, 2024, Netflix released a short teaser for a new tie-in with Cyberpunk 2077. This followed rumors about a Cyberpunk: Edgerunners sequel and CD Projekt Red joint CEO Michał Nowakowski signaling plans for more animated tie-ins.
CD Projekt Red announced in July 2025 that a stand-alone sequel series, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2, was in development, with most of the original creative team returning, and to be streamed on Netflix. It will feature a new story separate from the first series and a new cast of characters. Kai Ikarashi will direct the season, with Bartosz Sztybor serving as writer, producer, and showrunner, Ichigo Kanno as a character designer, and Masahiko Otsuka returning as scriptwriter.

Other media

A prequel manga series by Asano, titled Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Madness, debuted on Kadokawa's Comic Alive+ website on December 13, 2024. Dark Horse Comics will publish the manga in English in paperback format in North America.
Lucy was added as a playable character via downloadable content to Guilty Gear Strive on August 21, 2025. Additional avatars and music from Cyberpunk were also added.
A collaboration between Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and Wuthering Waves is planned for 2026.