Cyberpunk 2077 Version 2.21 Delivers Essential Improvements

CD Projekt RED has just released Cyberpunk 2077’s update 2.21 for all current-gen platforms, and it’s a big one. This patch brings a host of much-needed fixes and enhancements. Notably, it tackles an irritating bug with the "Run This Town" mission, which made it impossible to deactivate the Aguilar imprint.

For those eager to dive into the nitty-gritty, here are the patch notes for January 23, 2025:

Photo Mode Updates

First up, there’s good news for players fond of the Photo Mode. Now, Nibbles and Adam Smasher can be spawned when V is airborne or underwater. Plus, they’ve fixed the Facial Expression option for Adam Smasher and addressed the missing glowing chest cyberware issue. If you had Johnny’s Alternate Appearance enabled, both spawn options should now correctly reflect his alternate look.

There are also improvements to ensure characters spawned in the air or water don’t awkwardly snap to the ground. Characters should save correctly in presets, and they’ll remain visible after adding a background. V’s position and rotation are saved appropriately now, and a glitch where the Up/Down slider wouldn’t properly adjust V’s position is fixed. NPCs that became invisible due to the Surrounding NPCs option will no longer have collision issues.

Loading presets has also been smoothed out to prevent extra light sources from appearing and the camera is less likely to get stuck on walls. The camera now adheres to settings on the first go, and rotating with a background works as expected. Additionally, prompts for camera movement will only show when the camera can indeed be moved.

There were issues spawning characters while highlighting the Edit Character option, but that’s no longer a problem. Disabling Chromatic Aberration won’t affect your ability to tweak it anymore. Other tweaks include keeping the rule of thirds grid aligned with your chosen aspect ratio, SmartFrame visibility fixes, and resolving a hang issue when opening Photo Mode alongside the Wardrobe or Stash.

Vehicle Color Customization Fixes

Several tweaks have been made to streamline vehicle color customization. Textures and colors are now more consistent, especially for those using CrystalCoat. Plus, players will now see the spray paint icon explanation in the Autofixer tutorial pop-up.

Character Creation Improvements

The Randomizer settings in Character Creation will now stick as you move to the Customize Attributes step. They’ve ironed out a bug where the Piercing Color option vanished if V initially had no piercings. Other minor issues, like appearance options not applying, visual clipping, and UI hiccups, were polished up.

Miscellaneous Fixes

One major bug with the "Run This Town" quest has been resolved—you can now deactivate the Aguilar imprint after meeting Bennett. Other fixes include preventing Johnny from appearing twice in the passenger seat during quests and improving his presence when he’s supposed to be there. NPC and vehicle behaviors for various city events were corrected, too. Interacting with vendors should work more fluidly, and TV news voiceovers will no longer be missing or too quiet. Also, the Quadra Turbo-R V-Tech now has its own description.

Console-Specific Adjustments

Xbox players get a nifty update where blank screenshots in the Gallery will no longer be an issue, even with HDR10 on. You’ll get a heads-up if your console’s privacy settings block screenshot access. Also, the Gallery will accurately update and clear deleted screenshots. On the Xbox Series S, the Graphics Mode is now set to Performance by default, instead of Quality.

PC-Specific Enhancements

For the PC crowd, there’s support for DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation, which boosts FPS using AI and reduces memory usage for GeForce RTX 50 and 40 Series cards. You can now select between CNN and the new Transformer model for DLSS features, improving stability and visuals on all GeForce RTX graphics cards. Additionally, pesky issues like artifacts and smudges from DLSS Ray Reconstruction have been ironed out, and resetting the Frame Generation field is more reliable than ever.

With all these updates, CD Projekt RED seems committed to refining and enhancing Cyberpunk 2077, making it an even richer experience for players across all platforms.