Cyberpunk 2077 is CD Projekt Red's first time splitting off from the Witcher franchise, this time adapting a tabletop roleplaying game. It's a far cry from what the studio has done before, but unfortunately, Cyberpunk's disastrous launch has dominated the conversation so far.
Despite that, there's still plenty worth talking about in Cyberpunk 2077, including a wealth of references and Easter Eggs to other series. As fans might expect, CD Projekt has included quite a few different Witcher references.
Some of the Witcher references are obvious, but others are more obscure and difficult to find. Here's every Witcher reference in Cyberpunk 2077 explained.
Ciri and the Retro Gaming Magazine
The first and most obvious Witcher reference features none other than Ciri herself, and it's right at the beginning of the game. If players pick the Corpo lifepath they'll get the chance to explore V's office. By opening one of the desk drawers players find a magazine called Retro Gaming with a massive image of Ciri plastered on the cover. It's a simple and quick Easter Egg, but a neat one nonetheless.
The Smuggler's Cache
This more obscure Easter Egg found by The Gamer is a reference to the multitude of underwater caches players could find throughout The Witcher 3. By heading to a specific point on the map in the Coastview area, players can find the cache as well as a platform with a dead man and a note. The opening line makes it clear that this is a Witcher reference, stating "Thousands of caches and stashes all marked with that tantalizing question mark." The cache itself doesn't have any exceptional loot to speak of, but then that does seem a bit fitting for a smuggler's cache.
Roach Race Arcade Machine
A variety of arcade cabinets dot the world of Cyberpunk 2077, and one of the cabinets players can find is Roach Race, a reference to Geralt's trusty horse in the Witcher series. While the game isn't playable watching the screen will show a couple of cute references, like Roach standing on a roof reference the glitch in The Witcher 3. There isn't one exact location with Roach Race, as it can be found in various places around Night City.
Wolf School Jacket
Although not as much of an Easter Egg, players can get a few different pieces of Witcher gear in Cyberpunk 2077. To get these clothing items players simply have to connect their GOG.com to the game, whether it's on PC or console. There are five pieces of gear in total including the Wolf School Jacket, Wolf School T-Shirt, Galaxy T-Shirt, Black Unicorn Katana, and Shupe the Troll Plushie.
Blood and Wine Song on Guitar
One of the more obscure Easter Eggs discovered by keen-eared players involves a guitar-playing NPC in Night City. There are various NPCs playing guitar across the city, and it seems there are multiple ones that will play the main theme from the massive Blood & Wine expansion for The Witcher 3. Comparing footage from Cyberpunk, like in this Reddit thread, with the Blood & Wine theme makes it pretty clear that they're one and the same. Both game's soundtracks are composed by Polish composer Marcin Przybyłowicz.
The Barn Swallow
The last Easter Egg is a bit complicated, but fans think it's related to The Witcher. In one of Cyberpunk's endings, V wakes in a car with a bird perched on the window, which looks to be a Barn Swallow. As pointed out by NintendoSmash, the Barn Swallow is the bird that Ciri is often associated with, and the word Zireael in the Elder Speech of the Witcher translates to "swallow."
Adding to this is the fact that based on in-game lore, birds literally don't exist in Night City because of the Avian Extermination Act, which the game's codex explains as follows. "In the face of increasingly frequent and deadly zoonotic disease outbreaks, the City Council has decided that the most effective method for reducing the risk of infection among residents is via the extermination of all avian life within 18 miles of city limits."
There isn't any hard proof to this being a Ciri or Witcher reference, but it seems highly unlikely that CD Projekt would simply include the bird, and specifically a Barn Swallow, for no reason.
