CD Projekt's Cyberpunk 2077 Loremaster Confirms Edgerunners 2 Timeline, Igniting Fan Theories About Canon Endings

CD Projekt Red loremaster Patrick Mills has disclosed the exact year in which Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 is set, fueling fan speculation about what it implies for the ending of Cyberpunk 2077.

Mills stated that Season 2 takes place shortly after the moment you bite the bullet and finally meet Hanako at Embers in Cyberpunk 2077.

"Ok so the thing is that I am seeing a lot of people assuming S2 takes place before 2077 but it doesn't, it takes place in 2078," Mills confirmed in a post on Bluesky. "Moving things forward, time doesn't stop in Cyberpunk."

Mills had previously mentioned a misunderstanding he noticed in early reviews of the series but chose to wait until its release before dropping a truth nuke.

In Edgerunners Season 2, the powerful corporation Arasaka doesn't wield the same influence as it did during the events of Cyberpunk 2077, hinting that the anime is set after the game. There are also other details, both minor and major, but like the loremaster, I don't want to spoil things for you.

Now that fans know Edgerunners 2 is set just a year after Cyberpunk 2077, they are trying to decipher what it means for the game's plot. Some believe it suggests certain endings are canon—or perhaps more accurately, that certain endings are not canon. In truth, Edgerunners 2 doesn't force CD Projekt to make a decision about canon—similar to Bethesda's stance on Fallout canon in the Amazon TV show, which takes place after all the video games.

The Cyberpunk universe is set to expand further with the in-development Cyberpunk 2 (setting and time period yet to be announced). There's also a live-action film in the works, though according to CD Projekt, the Cyberpunk 2077 movie won't retrace the game's steps.

Before all that, Cyberpunk 2077 is getting a surprise Edgerunners 2-themed update this week. CD Projekt has confirmed it includes cyberware customization and a new dual-wielding playstyle. CDPR released a similar update for the first season, which added a short questline allowing players to track down the cool yellow jacket worn by the protagonist of Season 1. There's a good chance the new update will come with similar surprises when it launches on October 22.

More details about the Edgerunners 2 update will be revealed today, October 21, 2026, during a special episode of REDstreams.