Thread by @RTalsorianGames

Keen-eyed readers of the Cyberpunk RED core rulebook might have noticed some differences between the Night City map in 2045 and the Night City map in 2077. Locations, and even entire districts, have seemingly moved! Is this due to a mistake? A reboot? A retcon? 1/

Nothing of the kind! Buckle up, chooms. We're gonna show a bit of the thought process in how the Night City of 2045 turned into the Night City of 2077. We'll start with establishing three facts about Night City. 2/

1. Night City was specifically designed to be a Corporate Utopia: a place where businesses could thrive and bring jobs to the masses so there would be low unemployment and no crime. Did it work? Sort of. Businesses DO thrive there. The rest? Not so much. 3/

2. Night City is built on fill. The center, peninsula portion of the city was created by dumping large quantities of material into the ocean to form a landmass. 4/

3. The 4th Corporate War in the early 2020s hit Night City hard. We're not just talking about the nuke, choombas. Even before the nuke, there was a metric ton of on the street fighting as Arasaka fought to hold it, Militech fought to take it, and the gangs fought EVERYONE. 5/

Got it? Good. Let's go on. On August 20, 2023, the Arasaka Tower nuke went off. The bomb, the collapsing towers, and the chain reactions destroyed most of the Corp Center. The prevailing winds blew radioactive material to the southeast, into Japantown and Little China. 6/

And the resulting shockwave liquifacted some of the fill the city was built on, resulting in further instability throughout the peninsula. The results of the nuclear explosion, combined with the earlier fighting, drove much of the central population to the outskirts. 7/

Fast forward to 2045. Rebuilding Night City has been slow going. Outside national and international forces aren't helping and the Corps are rebuilding so they're judicious in their allocation of funds, prioritizing their immediate needs first and foremost. 8/

Corporations rebuild where they can and islands of "civilization" spring up around them. Some of this happens north of the central city in an area now known as the Watson Development Zone. 9/

Here's where the differences between 2045 and 2077 come into play. Example: Why is Japantown southeast of the Corp Center in 2045 but part of Westbrook in 2077?

Answer: In 2045, the area see of the Corp Center is Old Japantown and largely abandoned. 10/

Anyone who could move from Old Japantown fled during the Time of the Red, moving to Watson and, specifically, the area known by many as Kabuki. This doesn't last, however. After 2045, money from Japanese Corps floods into Night CIty, primarily from Arasaka. 11/

This was a benefit to the people of Kabuki, who found Japanese Corps happy to hire Japanese-speaking residents of Night City. In time, the demographic shifted to the more affluent Westbrook area, where they formed a new Japantown. 12/

Meanwhile, in 2045, Little China is doing its best to hang on in the Time of the Red. Eventually, however, demographic shifts and the rebuilding of the urban center drives the population north into Watson. 13/

They reform Little China there & eventually expand into Kabuki as it is mostly abandoned by the Japanese-speaking population.

Meanwhile, in 2045, the area southeast of the city center, where many refugees from the 2020 period fled to, is already divided by demographics. 14/

To the north the mostly English-speaking population calls it Heywood. To the south, centered around the Aldacaldo camp, the mostly Spanish-speaking population calls it Santo Domingo. 15/

In time, that northern population will migrate across the channel into South Night City and, when they do, they'll take the name Heywood with them. 16/

The population of Santo Domingo will, meanwhile, grow and spread to the northeast into what used to be Little China and Japantown and Vista del Rey will be born. 17/

Which brings us to the locations. A notable one is the Afterlife. In 2045, it is located in the Upper Marina, just northeast of the Old Bank Block. In 2077, you'll find it in Watson. Why?

Gentrification. Not even the Queen of Fixers, Rogue, can fight urban development. 18/

As the Corp Plaza was rebuilt and the areas of Little Europe and the Upper Marina blossomed into Downtown, there just wasn't room for a rough and tumble Solo bar in the middle of all that "civilized" splendor. So, Rogue moved north. Found a new location and took it over. 19/

We like to say Night City is as much a character in the Cyberpunk universe as Johnny Silverhand and, like any character, the City changes, grows, suffers hardships, and ages. Hopefully this thread gave you some insights into Night City's character arc over 50 years. 20/20.