In 2026, Night City still glows with dangerous promise, and V's story remains a race against time. A single botched heist leaves a prototype personality engram of Johnny Silverhand lodged inside V's skull. The digital ghost is a strange companion, but he is also killing them. V searches for a way to survive, and the trail leads toward Mikoshi and the Soulkiller program. The only question is how to reach them—and that question fractures the story into several unforgettable endings. What does each finale truly mean for a merc who has nothing left but borrowed time?

Arasaka Ending: The Devil's Bargain

In this path, V sides with Hanako Arasaka. It is the most direct ending, and it is the only option available if V has not completed enough side missions. The story has small variations depending on which characters are alive, but the main beats stay the same. V rescues Hanako and helps her take over Arasaka using the word of her grandfather, who is also stored in a personality chip. Then V fights Adam Smasher so Hanako can take full control and confront Yorinobu. Yorinobu had wanted to break his father's legacy and dispel the fear it created, but V's intervention thwarts that plan.

Afterward, V shares a final goodbye with Johnny Silverhand. Johnny is disappointed. He points out that V traded their values to a mega-corporation in exchange for survival. The Silverhand engram is removed from V and destroyed. V wakes in an orbital hospital, undergoing test after test. In the end, the tests confirm that the chip irreparably damaged V's body. Two choices remain: return to Earth and live out whatever time is left, or become an engram chip like Johnny and trust that Arasaka will one day give V a new body. Is that trust a bargain or a cage?

Night City Legend Ending: A Blaze of Glory

Here, V lets Johnny finish his fight and surrenders control of their body so he can attack Arasaka Tower once again. Johnny knows the only way to save V is to reach Mikoshi and leave V's body. His ex, Alt, retreated inside the net long ago and became a powerful AI construct. A deal is struck: Alt gains access to all the personalities stored in Mikoshi, and in return she saves V.

To reach Mikoshi, Johnny recruits Rogue for the assault. The plan takes them under the tower, where Adam Smasher ambushes them and kills Rogue. Smasher becomes the final fight, and Johnny finally takes revenge for his failure in 2023. At Mikoshi, Johnny talks with V, approves of their relationship, and chooses to hand back V's body. Alt confirms that V has only six months to live because of the chip's damage. Johnny leaves with Alt into the net.

Time jumps forward a few months. V lives as a legend in Night City. Despite vast resources, the chip is still killing them. V takes one last job from the notorious Mr. Blue Eyes: assault the Crystal Palace, a massive orbital space station, and retrieve an object. In return, Blue Eyes may be able to save V. The ending's final shot shows V in orbit, floating toward the target with nothing left to lose. What is a legend worth if it ends in six months?

Aldecaldos Ending: The Hopeful Horizon

To unlock this ending, V must complete all of Panam's side quests and become an ally of the Aldecaldos. When the choice of how to reach Mikoshi appears, V can call on them for support. The mission plays out similarly to Johnny's assault on the tower, but the early stages are different. With Panam's help, V penetrates the tower from an underground tunnel outside the city. V also gets to drive a hover tank, which makes the mission worth trying for that experience alone.

Once inside the tower, the raid follows the familiar path. V fights through the basement until Smasher ambushes them and kills the Aldecaldos leader, Saul. V defeats Smasher and proceeds into Mikoshi, this time from V's perspective. As digital engrams, V and Johnny speak, and Johnny approves of V's plan. The choice of who keeps V's body arises again, and V chooses to save themself. V feels guilty, but it is the choice Johnny wants, and he follows Alt into the net.

The six-month life expectancy still stands. V has little time left, but the Aldecaldos, with Panam as their new leader, take V away from Night City. Panam says it is possible they know someone who can help. As V and Panam flee with the nomads, they share a moment of peace in uncertainty. Of all the endings, this one may be the most hopeful. Can hope survive when the clock is still ticking?

Suicide Ending: The Abrupt Silence

This ending has no final mission. V decides that whatever course they take will probably result in people they care about losing their lives. After talking it over with Johnny, V decides they are not worth their friends' sacrifices and believes it would be better to take themself out. After achieving some measure of peace, V ends their life. It is a very abrupt end to the story. As the credits roll, many of V's friends call to reach their voicemail, expressing shock and sorrow at the decision.

Johnny's Ending: A Second Chance

Any ending that involves V being hit by Soulkiller gives V a chance to reach this ending. In all the conversations between Johnny and V, there is a choice about who keeps V's body. Any time Johnny remains in the body, this ending follows. With Johnny as the personality, V's body is stable. With the help of a young musician named Steve, who drives him around town, Johnny visits a few places to prepare to leave Night City. He also visits a memorial center to deliver V's pendant to their memorial, promising to move on with his life while paying respects.

V's influence has made Johnny wiser, and he intends to use this second chance well. Johnny takes a bus out of Night City to live his new life and leaves a new guitar with the young musician. Is this a happy ending, a stolen one, or both?

Secret Ending: Don't Fear the Reaper

To reach this secret ending, V must have a high affinity with Johnny and spend around five minutes in silence while deliberating their choices. Once again, not wanting to risk anyone else, V takes Johnny's suggestion to shed all caution, walk toward Arasaka Tower's front door, and do it all alone. This is, without a doubt, the hardest mission in the game. V must be ready. If V fails, there is no retry. V dies, and the game proceeds to the credits. V has to fight through elite enemies with no help and reach Mikoshi.

The mission beats are similar to the others: find a way down to Mikoshi and keep fighting. Adam Smasher arrives to kill V, not killing anyone else this time because there is no one else. After defeating him, V heads inside Mikoshi. V chats with a very impressed Johnny, and once again V keeps their body while Johnny leaves. From there, time fast-forwards, and events play out just like the Night City Legend ending, with V assaulting the Crystal Palace.

Endings At A Glance

In 2026, Cyberpunk 2077's endings still hit hard because they are not simple win-or-lose states. They are arguments about identity, sacrifice, and what a person owes to the people around them. V can become a legend, a corporate experiment, a nomad, a memory, or a ghost in the machine. Each path asks the same question in a different voice: when time runs out, who do you choose to be? There is no perfect answer, and that is exactly why Night City keeps calling players back. 🎮🌃