I have a soft spot for Night City's messy, neon-soaked love stories, so I booted up Phantom Liberty again in 2026 hoping CD Projekt Red had quietly slipped a new romance into Dogtown. No dice. The expansion that was supposed to be Cyberpunk 2077's one big second chance still leaves V's romantic roster exactly where it was: Judy Alvarez, Panam Palmer, River Ward, Kerry Eurodyne, and a handful of fleeting flings. For a game that lets me chrome my spine and argue with a rockstar ghost, that feels oddly small.
The promise, the letdown, and the official word
I remember the early hope. Quest designer Despoina Anetaki initially suggested there would be some content like that, which sent fans, me included, into a speculative spiral. Then CDPR's global community director Marcin Momot poured cold water on the idea, and global PR director Radek Grabowski officially confirmed that Phantom Liberty would not add new romanceable characters. The studio did say there would be new content for the base-game love interests, but the door to a fresh Dogtown romance was shut.
That stings because Phantom Liberty has everything else going for it. Dogtown is the most unruly, lawless slice of Pacifica, a place where the city's neon heart beats like a faulty cyberware implant. The expansion brings vehicle combat, reworked cyberware and skill trees, a revamped police system, and Idris Elba as Solomon Reed. V has to work with Reed to save NUSA President Rosalind Myers. It is a spy thriller with a sharp suit and a body count. And yet, in the middle of all that intrigue, V is essentially friend-zoned before the first meaningful conversation.
A romance roster that feels frozen in place
In 2026, Phantom Liberty is no longer a fresh release, but its status as Cyberpunk 2077's first and final expansion still matters. Whatever was left out is unlikely to be added before Cyberpunk 2, or Project Orion, arrives years down the line. That means players who want love in Night City are still stuck with the same four core options.
| Character | Base-game role | Romance status after Phantom Liberty |
|---|---|---|
| Judy Alvarez | Braindance editor | Existing option; no new romance arc |
| Panam Palmer | Aldecaldo nomad | Existing option; no new romance arc |
| River Ward | NCPD detective | Existing option; no new romance arc |
| Kerry Eurodyne | Former Samurai rockstar | Existing option; no new romance arc |
| Songbird | Phantom Liberty netrunner | Not romanceable |
| Solomon Reed | NUSA agent played by Idris Elba | Not romanceable |
That table is not a knock on the writing. Judy, Panam, River, and Kerry are complex, emotional, and nuanced characters. The problem is the machinery around them. Once V agrees to a relationship, the payoff is mostly unrestricted apartment access, occasional text messages, and a few extra dialogue options. It is the romantic equivalent of being handed a key and then left alone in the lobby. The characters deserve better, and so do players.
What could have been
Night City is packed with personalities that would have made fascinating romance options. Rita Wheeler, the Lizzie's Bar bouncer, has enough attitude to power a small district. Goro Takemura remains the most obvious missing romance in Cyberpunk 2077, a loyal corpo samurai whose arc is already tangled up with V's. If CDPR wanted to get truly weird, a Johnny Silverhand romance could have pushed the metaphysical boundaries of the game into strange and memorable territory. I am not saying it would have been healthy. I am saying it would have been unforgettable.
Phantom Liberty's new cast makes the omission hurt more. Songbird is already one of Night City's most compelling individuals, a character wrapped in secrets and static. Solomon Reed is played by Idris Elba, which is its own kind of charisma upgrade. The mission to save President Myers keeps everyone focused, sure, but focus is not the same as emotional distance. Getting closer to these people could have added intrigue to their arcs without turning the spy story into a dating sim. Sadly, CDPR chose not to bite.
How romance could still improve
The good news is that Phantom Liberty did not have to add new romance options to make the existing ones better. CDPR could have improved the base-game romances with deeper relationship mechanics. I would have loved to see relationship levels that actually change how V and a partner interact. For example:
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🎁 Give Judy a gift based on her interests, and let that choice matter.
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🍜 Invite Panam to a date she would actually enjoy, not just wait for a scripted call.
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📱 Respond to texts and calls with real consequences, including silence.
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💔 Disagree too often, or ignore a partner, and let the relationship slowly fizzle out.
That kind of system would make romance feel alive rather than like a checkbox. It would also give the existing love interests more room to breathe. Instead, Phantom Liberty mostly left the base-game romance loop untouched, and the result is a strange gap in an otherwise ambitious expansion.
So yes, I am disappointed. I wanted Dogtown to surprise me with a new flame, a complicated flirtation, or at least one disastrous date. Instead, Phantom Liberty remains a brilliant spy story with a romance cupboard that is bare. Until Cyberpunk 2 arrives, V will have to find love with Judy, Kerry, River, or Panam. That is not a terrible fate, but in a city this loud and this full of dangerous people, it feels like a missed connection.