River’s Storyline in Cyberpunk 2077 Could Have Been Different

River Ward and his storyline in Cyberpunk 2077 have been two of the most emotional and unexpected quests in the whole game. And it’s been confirmed the original idea was even darker.

As revealed by Cyberpunk 2077 quest director Patrick K. Mills on Bluesky social media, CD Projekt RED initially wanted to make River Ward’s storyline crueller: the original scene involved the kids finding a dead dog and explaining death to them. It was important to Patrick K. Mills to find an appropriate tone for the game; that’s why he chose to “push back on direction.”

“If you can believe it, I had to push back on direction to make it even darker, my version is a laugh riot compared to what I was asked to make. Finding the tone of Cyberpunk 2077 was very much a collective effort.”

In the final version of River’s storyline, V is looking for his nephew Randy, who was groomed by the man who targets teens and pumps them full of drugs on his farm and then kills.

What do you think of the alternative ending of River Ward’s storyline in Cyberpunk 2077? Was it too dark for the game? Share your thoughts in the comments below!