Cyberpunk 2077 modder who added romantic hangouts to the game before CDPR did found Update 2.1 flattering

A Cyberpunk 2077 modder who made it possible for PC players to hang out with the game’s romantic interests at V’s apartment — long before CD Projekt added in its own romantic hangout feature with Update 2.1 — says they found it flattering to see something similar to their work be officially implemented.

Before work properly kicked into gear on its sequel at the start of this year, Cyberpunk 2077’s final big update brought a whole bunch of cool new features to the game, including a fully functional metro system and the ability to listen to the radio while you're exploring on foot. Another of its big changes was the introduction of the ability to invite your partner of choice - from Judy Alvarez to Kerry Eurodyne - over to your pad for some cosy snuggling.

If you were browsing Nexus Mods in July of last year (I was, though it is part of my job), you might have found modder Phil ‘Deceptious’ Wright’s ‘I Really Want To Stay At Your House’ series of works, which made it possible for the likes of Judy, Panam, and River Ward to visit a number of Vs apartments. Much like the hangout feature CDPR ended up adding to the game, the goal was to provide a means for your relationship of choice to stretch on past the questline that sees you form your initial romantic bond.

Now, in an interview with Nexus Mods, Wright has shared how they feel about that feature having arrived in the game, revealing that overall, they’re “flattered” and get “a sense of validation and accomplishment” from it.

“All my mods begin with an idea/design that I then try and turn into a mod people might like, so to see CDPR officially implement something so close to my original idea, and people enjoying it, is very satisfying,” said the modder, adding: “It must have been a good idea.”

Wright also revealed a bit about the work that’s helped them become pretty much the only modder capable of making quest mods for Cyberpunk. Analysing the file makeup of “small replayable scenes”, learning to reverse engineer the likes of animation from one scene into another, and being able to utilise tools like fellow modder Psiberx’s ‘ArchiveXL’ and ‘TweakXL’ all look to have been key.

Interestingly, it seems Deceptious is currently putting the finishing touches on a mod that’ll allow you to decorate V’s various living spaces with a collection of digital and interactive art related to the game.

If you're after some more recent CD Projekt Red-related news to read while you wait for that to arrive, the developer’s Chief Strategy Officer Adam Kiciński has shot down the idea that it's looking to be acquired by a larger industry entity.