- The “Edgerunners” Milestone: Update 1.60 served as the pivotal turning point for Cyberpunk 2077, introducing transmedia tie-ins with the Netflix anime that catalyzed the game’s massive player resurgence.
- Last Call for Legacy Hardware: This update marked the final major content drop for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, establishing a “Legacy Version” of Night City before the title shifted to current-gen exclusive development for 2.0 and Phantom Liberty.
- Technical Foundation: Introduced the REDmod official modding tools and cross-progression, infrastructure that remains foundational to the game’s longevity in 2026.
Looking back from 2026, the history of Night City is often divided into two eras: the pre-reclamation struggle and the post-Edgerunners renaissance. On September 7, 2022, Update 1.60—better known as the “Edgerunners Update”—arrived not just as a patch, but as a cultural lifeline. While modern titles like the Marathon Update 1.025 now set the standard for live-service evolution, it was Update 1.60 that proved a disgraced AAA title could undergo a total narrative and technical redemption.
This update remains a historical curiosity for players on modern hardware, as it represents the absolute ceiling of performance for 8th-generation consoles. It was the moment CD Projekt Red introduced “transmedia synchronicity,” weaving David Martinez’s tragic story into the game’s world-building just as the anime took the world by storm.
The Edgerunners Expansion: New Gigs and Content
Update 1.60 added three high-stakes Gigs, primarily focused on the Watson and Santo Domingo districts. These missions were designed to bridge the gap between V’s journey and the lore of the 2076 anime timeline.
- Concrete Cage Trap (SOS: Merc Needed): Located in Kabuki, Watson. V is tasked with extracting a technician under Regina Jones’ direction. This gig notably rewards the Hypercritical Iconic Precision Rifle.
- Desperate Measures (Thievery): Set in Arroyo, Santo Domingo. Working for El Capitan, this mission involves a high-risk data heist.
- Nasty Hangover (Search and Recover): Rogue returns as the fixer for this Arroyo-based gig, requiring V to track down lost goods in a heavily guarded territory.
The 2026 Handheld Perspective
While 1.60 introduced basic Steam Deck support, current users on the Steam Deck OLED and ROG Ally benefit from the refined 2.12 optimizations. However, 1.60 remains the stable base for legacy “Deck-ready” mods that haven’t been ported to the 2.0 REDengine architecture.
The Weapons of the 1.6 Era
Long before the intricate combat mechanics of titles like Nioh 3 Update v1.050, Update 1.60 experimented with unique weapon archetypes that would eventually lead to the overhauled 2.0 combat system. This patch introduced 11 new weapons, including the fan-favorite “Chainsword.”
| Weapon Name | Type | Special Attribute |
|---|---|---|
| Kappa | Smart Pistol | Enhanced target lock acquisition. |
| Cut-O-Matic | Melee (Chainsword) | High dismemberment probability. |
| Kyubi | Power Assault Rifle | Semi-automatic precision at mid-range. |
| Blue Fang | Iconic Knife | Guaranteed stun on headshots. |
Historical Context: The 1.6 vs 2.0 Shift
For modern players, it is vital to remember that the “Ninjutsu” and “Skill Tree” systems detailed in these 1.60 patch notes are now considered Legacy Mechanics. In 2023, the 2.0 update completely dismantled the perks mentioned here—such as Corrosive Poison and Critical Antidote—replacing them with the current synergistic attribute system. Update 1.60 was the final iteration of the “classic” Cyberpunk RPG math.
Furthermore, this update was the last to support Google Stadia. As history records, the platform was shuttered in early 2023, making the Stadia-specific fixes in these notes a digital artifact of a defunct ecosystem. For those still playing on original PS4 or Xbox One hardware, 1.60 is the “End of the Road,” as these platforms never received the Phantom Liberty expansion or the subsequent 2.1 vehicle combat updates.
REDmod: Empowering the Community
Perhaps the most enduring legacy of 1.60 is the launch of REDmod. By providing official command-line tools and a dedicated mod folder architecture, CD Projekt Red invited the community to fix and flourish. Many of the “Essential Mods” we use in 2026 for ultra-realistic ray reconstruction and NPC AI behavior found their footing in the REDmod integration of 2022.
“With REDmod, we are giving players the keys to Night City in a way that goes beyond simple archive overrides. It is about a sustainable future for the REDengine.”
— Official 1.60 Deployment Notes
Technical Refinements and Quality of Life
Update 1.60 brought several “long-overdue” features that are now taken for granted:
- Cross-Progression: The ability to move saves between PC and console via GOG cloud.
- Wardrobe (Transmog): Finally allowing players to separate armor stats from visual style—a feature essential for the “Style Over Substance” ethos.
- Nibbles in Photo Mode: An often-requested feature allowing the stray cat V adopts to be posed in photos.
- Arcade Playability: The introduction of Roach Race as a playable mini-game within the world of Night City.
While the game has since evolved into a technical masterpiece on the PlayStation 6 and modern PC hardware, the September 2022 update remains the most important chapter in the game’s survival. It turned a cautionary tale of AAA development into a blueprint for how to respect a community through persistent iteration and narrative depth.
