Cyberpunk TCG: Holophone Deep Dive and Q+A

On Wednesday, we introduced the world to Holophone — a brand-new narrative experience that players can engage with during Cyberpunk TCG Organized Play events.

It’s a unique, immersive Organized Play experience. So, naturally, a lot of you have questions about it! To shed some more light on Holophone, what it is, and how you'll engage with it, today we have a double feature blog for you!

First up, over on the Cyberpunk TCG YouTube channel, we've got a new Deep Dive video all about Holophone, brought to you by Pawel Burza and Patrick Mills from CD PROJEKT RED!

Once you've watched that, Here's an extra Q+A about Holophone with WeirdCo Narrative Lead Emanuel Garcia, to tell you even more about the thinking and philosophy behind the experience.

Holophone Q+A with WeirdCo Narrative Lead, Emanuel Garcia

Q: Hi Emanuel! To get us started, can you tell us a little bit about the philosophy behind Holophone, and how the idea for it originated?

A: Hello! The story behind Holophone goes back quite a while and is rooted in the early development of Cyberpunk TCG.

As players know, in Cyberpunk TCG, they lead crews to take control of Gigs across the city, take out their competition, and become a Legend. But from a narrative perspective, there are many different ways to become a Legend in Night City. It’s not always about being the loudest or strongest. And often, amassing 7 gigs isn’t the end of the story, but the beginning.

Cyberpunk 2077 has an incredibly rich, immersive branching story. We wanted to echo that through Cyberpunk TCG and give fans of the series who try our game a storytelling experience that feels authentic to CD PROJEKT RED’s exceptional source material.

That’s when the concept of Holophone was born. We asked ourselves: could we create player-centric stories that extend beyond a single match of Cyberpunk TCG? Could we enable player-driven narrative journeys that develop month-by-month as you play in your local store? And how could we dial that experience up when players step into the major leagues at competitive events like Edgerunner Open Regionals?

It’s an ambitious undertaking, but our goal is clear: Enable Cyberpunk TCG players to immerse themselves in an all-new Cyberpunk narrative experience that unfolds as they play the game, and feel every step in the long and often winding journey to become a Night City Legend.

Q: So, what should players expect when Holophone launches?

A: We’re rolling Holophone out iteratively. Later this year, players can expect a first taste of the Holophone experience. When they access the Holophone app through web or mobile, they’ll be able to choose between 3 factions: Arasaka, Aldecaldos, and Maelstrom, each with their own unique characters and storylines based in Night City after the events of Cyberpunk 2077.

For Pre-release and the month of November, players will have access to 1 Main Job, which will serve as a demo and an introduction to the experience. Currently, Holophone is in Alpha, and as we progress through the year and into next year, players can expect a lot more content, more functionality, and more features to be added.

In terms of how players will actually engage with characters and stories through Holophone, as the name suggests, we’ve decided to use text messaging as our main method of storytelling. If you’ve played Cyberpunk 2077 or watched Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, you know that communication between your crew and chooms via Holophone is crucial.

This puts players directly into Night City. When they open up their Holophone app, they can interact with characters, get new jobs, and make important narrative decisions. Rather than simply watching or reading a story, Holophone puts players right into the heart of it.

Q: Can you tell us a little more about the storyline that players will be jumping into through Holophone?

A: After the events of Cyberpunk 2077, Arasaka is vacating Night City. Leaked info about their convoys and AVs has reached a slew of subnets, and now different factions see an opportunity of a lifetime. The streets are ripe with opportunities and risky jobs.

Players will meet Gunnar, the strict, ex-military Arasaka executive who’s leading Internal Security for the corporation. They’ll meet Forge, a connoisseur pyrotechnician and razor-sharp Maelstromer. And finally, they’ll meet Monise, a techie Aldecaldo who traveled across the country to survive the harsh climate of the Unification War.

As fixers, mercs, or agents, do you want to join Arasaka and see their exit through to the end? Or join Maelstrom and investigate a shady exec who wants to thrash Arasaka convoys for eddies? Or join the Aldecaldos and avoid a massive crossfire between the Wraiths and Snake Nation for corpo convoys?

That’s where things begin. As you’ll be well aware if you’ve played Cyberpunk 2077 or watched Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, things rarely go exactly to plan in Night City. So players should prepare for a winding, evolving narrative with unique experiences for every faction.

Q: You mentioned “Jobs” a couple of times. What will players actually have to do to complete these and progress their Holophone journey?

A: Thanks to our partnership with Melee, we’re able to connect tournament results to Holophone’s job and messaging systems. This allows us to give all players the chance to engage with the story starting at an LGS level.

By playing games at Weekly Brawls, all players can learn more about their character, faction, and story, and earn rewards that provide exclusive prizes — even if they lose!

For now, there are two types of Jobs: Main Jobs and Side Jobs. Main Jobs are quests related to the main storyline associated with each faction, while Side Jobs are quests or tasks that are not related to the main storyline. Each Job offers different objectives, rewards, and interactions, giving each player a unique perspective on the events happening across Night City.

Q: Thanks Emanuel, we can’t wait to get our hands on Holophone and start the journey for ourselves!

A: Thank you!

Cyberpunk TCG: Holophone's Alpha demo is set to launch alongside Welcome to Night City Pre-release events (subject to change).