Highlights

• Cyberpunk 2077 built its vibrant world with influences from iconic franchises like Ghost in the Shell.
• The game is filled with Easter eggs and references, including nods to Ghost in the Shell through character designs and missions.
• Both Ghost in the Shell and Cyberpunk 2077 explore themes of cybernetics and identity in dystopian futures.

CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077 was released in 2020 and still happens to be one of the most popular games in the world. All thanks to the influences it wears on its sleeves to create one of the most genuine living, breathing cities of gaming history, Night City. Players must go through the city to save the main character, V, from an untimely end, during which countless Easter eggs and homages can be seen.

Ghost in the Shell, one of the referenced IPs, originated in 1989 as a manga written by the legendary Masamune Shirow. The series contains a dense and complicated story that deals with cybernetics, identity, the impact technology will have on the future, and the nature of identity, all of which are themes that are explored thoroughly in Cyberpunk 2077 as well. Given that both franchises touch similar themes, it was only natural for Cyberpunk 2077 to amalgamate the two and include loving references to the earlier manga and franchise.

Some Ghost in the Shell Easter Eggs in Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 is a game loaded with Easter eggs and loving references to all kinds of franchises and games, ranging from things as simple as a Batmobile to elements and models inspired by GTA: San Andreas, Breaking Bad, and Blade Runner, among others. However, to incorporate references to a franchise like Ghost in the Shell that uses similar dystopian themes, makes all the more sense. For instance, one of the bikes in the game is named Yaiba Kusanagi CT-3X, which is a direct reference to Ghost in the Shell’s protagonist, Major Motoko Kusanagi. Interestingly, this bike actually serves two homages as its name is inspired by Ghost in the Shell, and the design comes from the legendary bike from Akira.

There are even more references to Ghost in the Shell hidden in plain sight in Cyberpunk 2077, with some players never even realizing what they’re seeing. The profile picture of one of the main supporting characters, Judy Alvarez, is a literal ghost coming out of a shell. This kind of clever and subtle design shows the amount of reverence Cyberpunk 2077 holds for its predecessors.

The Mission Series is Also Packed With Ghost in the Shell References

Cyberpunk 2077 has a rich open world packed with various missions for players, and one of those activities is given early on — tasking players with tracking down and eliminating “cyberpsychos,” which are people who slowly lost their sanity as a result of cybernetic enhancements. This mission as a whole can be seen as a Ghost in the Shell reference, since its premise wouldn’t be out of place in New Port City. Plus, one of the cyberpsychos in Cyberpunk, Lt. Mower, looks almost exactly like Major Motoko Kusanagi, and the arena provided for the fight looks similar to a famous scene from the film, too.

The Similarities Between Ghost in the Shell and Cyberpunk 2077

It won’t be wrong to say that the world presented in Ghost in the Shell serves as a kind of soft blueprint for Cyberpunk 2077’s Night City. Although both stories are set in dystopian futures, Ghost in the Shell deals with the threat of corporations and corporate control first, indicating the route the world could take if these companies’ control ran unchecked. In addition, both stories show how human bodies could eventually integrate technology and augmentations to become cyborgs, beings who are more than human.

The Influence of the Cyberpunk Genre

The Cyberpunk genre is a major influence on both series, and both have played a role in its genesis and continued evolution. From the genre’s inception in the 80s, films like Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner and Akira provided a blueprint for cyberpunk-themed games and universes. Ghost in the Shell then took this even further while painting a picture of the tortured New Port City over the course of the entire manga and its various adaptations, eventually becoming one of the most important cyberpunk-themed worlds. Cyberpunk 2077 incorporated many elements from all of these franchises to create Night City.