Mac is getting another AAA game release with Cyberpunk 2077

By Carli Velocci Published October 30, 2024

Judy leans over a table in Cyberpunk 2077. — CD Projekt Red

Another huge game is set to hit Macs soon. CD Projekt Red announced that Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition, which comes with the Phantom Liberty DLC, will be the latest AAA title to be playable on Apple Silicon.

CD Projekt Red didn’t have a lot of information to share, but it’s targeting a 2025 release and will support features like path tracing, which offers a similar effect as ray tracing, frame generation for increased frame rates, and built-in spatial audio. It’ll be available on the Mac App Store and Steam. If you own a copy of the game for PC on Steam, it’ll carry over to your Mac. The studio will have more details at a later date.

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MacOS hasn’t always been known as a great system for playing video games. While there are some excellent games you can play on Mac, many of them don’t require powerful hardware to run. Apple has been working to fix that over the past few years, with technology like MetalFX upscaling that can boost gaming performance without requiring a discrete GPU.

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With M3 and M4 Apple Silicon, Mac gaming has been taken to new levels. Apple has been touting this prowess with AAA releases like Resident Evil Village, Assassin’s Creed Mirage, and Death Stranding: Director’s Cut. Mac has also gotten newer releases like Lies of P and Baldur’s Gate 3.

The question is if anybody will want to play these games on Mac to begin with. Apple still has a long way to go in that regard, and it definitely needs more games to do it. But for CD Projekt Red, it just gets Cyberpunk 2077 on a new platform. It’s already on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC, but it was also on Google Stadia (RIP) at launch. After Mac, the only platform missing is the Nintendo Switch, although that release would be extremely unlikely.

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Contributor, Games

Carli is a technology, culture, and games editor and journalist. They were the Gaming Lead and Copy Chief at Windows Central…

Gaming

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty Relic guide

Songbird in a dress in Phantom Liberty.

The first and only expansion for Cyberpunk 2077 has far more than just a new area and missions to fill your time. Phantom Liberty is part of the 2.0 update that almost completely overhauls the systems introduced in the base game to be more in line with the original vision, It also adds new mechanics to flesh out the experience even further. Once you start the expansion, the first thing you will probably notice is the completely revamped skill system, which now includes a brand new tree called the Relic tree. These skills are all brand new, and alone could be reason enough to start a fresh adventure in Night City. But these Relic skills don't function like the other skills where you simply need to level up to unlock and upgrade them. Don't worry, Samurai, we'll transfer all the data you need on how to get Relic skills and what each of them does.
How to get Relic points
The new Relic skill tree is the only new feature in terms of skills that you need to purchase the Phantom Liberty expansion to access. Once you begin the expansion, the tree and a few starting points will be given to you automatically from a new character. To get more Relic points, you have to track down a new feature called Militech Data Terminals rather than simply leveling up. These points will only pop up on your map once you're close to them, so you will need to search them out for the most part.
All Relic skills

The Relic skill tree is broken down into three branches: Jailbreak, Emergency Cloaking, and Vulnerability. Just like any normal skill tree, you need to unlock each skill in order to gain access to the next one, so planning out which branch you want to invest in before spending your precious points is vital, especially since some trees have many more levels to them than others. Here's what each branch gives you:
Jailbreak
Jailbreak: Unlocks new abilities for your Arm Cyberwear, including the Mantis Blades, Gorilla Arms, Projectile Launch System, and Monowire.

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Cyberpunk 2077: How to start Phantom Liberty DLC

A pyramid from Cyberpunk 2077.

The rehabilitation of Cyberpunk 2077 finally culminates in both the release of the 2.0 update and the substantial DLC expansion called Phantom Liberty. Between these two, plus all the changes made in the years since launch, the once unstable and buggy game is finally living up to its potential. While everything up until this point has been free, including the 2.0 changes, Phantom Liberty is the first and only piece of paid content. Giving players an entirely new area in Dogtown to explore, plus a lengthy main story and tons of new side missions, it's the biggest reason to reinstall this ambitious title. But how exactly can you start the DLC since it is meant to slot into the story of the main game rather than take place before or after? We've hacked in and downloaded all the data you need on how to start the Phantom Liberty DLC.
How to start Phantom Liberty
There are actually a few different ways to get into Phantom Liberty depending on your preference and whether or not you've played the base game. The easiest way to get directly into it is through the main menu. With the DLC installed, you will have an option to jump directly into the expansion, even if you haven't played the main game yet. This sounds great for those who want to see the new stuff right away, but it isn't recommended if you haven't played the base game at all. You will be given a character automatically leveled up and placed at the proper point in the story for the DLC to take place with no context or tutorial on how to play. Note that picking this option doesn't lock you out of any of the base game content.

For new players who want to experience Phantom Liberty more naturally, you will need to play the opening hours of Cyberpunk 2077 until you complete the "Transmission" mission before the quest that starts the DLC will trigger.

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Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty fixes my biggest problems with the base game

V rides a motorcycle while shooting at a mech in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty.

When Cyberpunk 2077 launched in December 2020, I so desperately wanted to love it. I was enamored with its intricate open-world design, which featured an impressive level of verticality, but it was hard to ever get fully immersed due to its slew of launch problems. Pair that with a lore-heavy story that was filled with cyber-talk and I often found myself feeling lost in Night City -- and not in the good way I want from an open-world game.

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty — Official Trailer