You’ve watched the credits, stood on that rooftop with Johnny and made your choice. The dust has settled, but Night City is still calling. Everyone keeps asking the same question: what about New Game Plus in Cyberpunk 2077?
This guide covers the whole situation, from the developers’ reasons for leaving out New Game Plus to the excellent mod that makes it possible. It includes installation and save management, so you don’t accidentally erase your progress. Don’t forget to visit my main Cyberpunk 2077 hub afterward!
Can you start New Game Plus in vanilla Cyberpunk?
Cyberpunk 2077 has no official NG+ mode, and it never will. For a while, we all assumed one would arrive, but CDPR made their reasons pretty clear. Adding New Game Plus would fundamentally break Cyberpunk’s narrative and structure. Think about it: the whole story follows V, a relative nobody climbing the ladder before receiving a death sentence from the biochip. Starting as a cyberpsycho-level killing machine simply doesn’t fit.
With the development team now focused on the sequel, Project Orion (Cyberpunk 2), the question of further official 2077 updates is practically closed.
Paweł Sasko’s official explanation for the lack of NG+
In a June 2024 DualShockers interview, Paweł Sasko, the game’s lead quest designer and the sequel’s associate game director, explained the official reasons in detail. These quotes are the most comprehensive explanation we have.
“It’s really important to us that when a game has different components, they all work together, work well and make sense. Cyberpunk is very specific in how it’s constructed. It’s incredibly difficult to come up with a way to implement New Game Plus without completely breaking the game’s structure. To do it really well would require major changes to the structure of the game itself.”
– Paweł Sasko, lead quest designer,
June 2024 DualShockers interview
He also explained that the game was designed for fresh playthroughs rather than carrying progress over. The intention was for players to discover new aspects of the game by making different choices with a new character.
New Game Plus – Native mod
Since CDPR wasn’t going to give us what we wanted, the modding community stepped in, as usual. The best solution is New Game Plus – Native. It’s a comprehensive mod: a fully integrated system that does exactly what you’d expect from an official feature.
What carries over? Pretty much everything that matters:
- Your level, attributes and skills: Character level, Street Cred, perk points, attribute points and even Phantom Liberty Relic points.
- Equipment and cyberware: All your weapons, clothes and installed cyberware carry over. Cyberware Capacity Shards carry over too.
- Assets: Your vehicles, money, consumables and crafting materials transfer to the new game.
The mod even gives you two ways to begin your new life in Night City:
- From the beginning: Start with the Sandra Dorsett rescue mission, with the mod speeding up some tedious early quests.
- After The Heist: Skip the prologue entirely and start immediately after The Heist, waking up with Johnny Silverhand already in your head.
Your save file needs to qualify, of course. It must come from patch 2.0 or later and be either a Point of No Return save or one made just before meeting Hanako at Embers.
How to install the Cyberpunk NG+ mod
This part might look intimidating, but trust me, it’s straightforward if you follow the steps. The Cyberpunk NG+ mod needs several other framework mods to work. These essential tools let more complex mods function.
The biggest mistakes are skipping a dependency, installing an outdated version or trying a manual installation instead of using Vortex. Always double-check the mod’s Nexus page for its latest requirements before downloading anything.
Required dependencies: don’t skip these!
Install these first. Trying to run the NG+ mod without them will simply leave you with a broken game.
- ArchiveXL
- Codeware
- Mod Settings
- RED4ext
- redscript
- TweakXL
Will starting a new game delete my old saves?
The short answer is no: starting a new game won’t automatically delete your old manual saves. The game supports multiple playthroughs. This isn’t the old console era with just three save slots. Still, be sensible, especially with mods involved. Save corruption is a real risk if a mod updates or you remove one mid-playthrough. You need a backup plan.
Here’s how Cyberpunk handles save files:
| Save type | What happens in a new game? |
|---|---|
| Manual saves | Completely safe. They remain untouched. ✅ |
| Autosaves | Overwritten by the new playthrough. ❌ |
| Quicksaves | Overwritten by the new playthrough. ❌ |
The golden rule: always make a manual save of your finished character before starting NG+. I usually give it a descriptive name, such as “V – Corpo Netrunner – FINAL,” so I know exactly what it is. For extra safety, I recommend copying the save folder somewhere secure.
You can find it at this path:
%userprofile%\Saved Games\CD Projekt Red\Cyberpunk 2077.
Just copy this folder somewhere safe before you start messing around with big mods. It’s a five-second process that can save you tens of hours of hassle. Take my word for it.
Are you ready to experience Night City again?
That’s all there is to it. You can relive the story with the freedom of a complete build at your disposal from the start. It changes the dynamic, turning V from a mercenary struggling to survive into a legend returning to their roots.
Answers to your questions
Will starting a new game delete my old save files?
Starting NG+ does NOT delete your manual saves. Only autosaves and quicksaves are replaced by the new playthrough. You can keep several characters at once by making manual saves with clear names.
Are New Game Plus mods available?
Yes, there are several NG+ mods, with New Game Plus – Native being the most comprehensive. It carries your level, perks, equipment, vehicles and money into a new playthrough. Other options include Pseudo New Game Plus and New Game Plus – Wake Up Faster.
What are the requirements for New Game Plus mods?
You’ll need several framework mods, including Cyber Engine Tweaks, Red4EXT, Codeware, Redscript, TweakXL, and more. Your save file must be Patch 2.0 or later and be either a “Point of No Return” save or have certain quest conditions met.
Does the New Game Plus mod make the game too easy?
The mod can make early-game content considerably easier because you start with high-level equipment and skills. I recommend a difficulty mod such as Enemies of Night City to keep the challenge scaling appropriately.
Can console players use New Game Plus?
No. NG+ mods are only available on PC, through mod managers such as Vortex or manual installation. Console players can’t access these features and have to start ordinary new playthroughs.
