Fans of Cyberpunk 2077 can't wait to explore all that Night City has to offer. With violent crime at an all-time high, the city and surrounding desert can be hazardous to the unsuspecting. Though law enforcement does exist in Night City, these departments are primarily funded by the largest and most powerful corporations. As a result, the NCPD is not set up to serve and protect the population but primarily to protect the interests of corporations. This leaves citizens in less fortunate neighborhoods to be preyed upon by gangs and crime syndicates. The fact that most of the city's population lives below the poverty line only exasperates the situation, forcing more people to turn to crime to survive.
Virtually all these gangs engage in illegal activity, but all go different ways about it or have different reasons for doing so. They are as varied as they are deadly, and none of them like each other much. However, depending on each player's decisions and playstyle, some of them might come to you with jobs and quests. Get on their good side, and they might regard you as a friend and ally. Get on their bad side, and well, they won't be happy to have you around anymore. They may not be the most powerful forces of Night City, but these gangs have strength and influence in their own way.
Maelstrom
One of the most infamous gangs of the Cyberpunk lore, the Maelstroms are a combat-heavy gang that is obsessed with cybertechnology and body modification. This makes most of them look fully cyborg in appearance but leads to cyberpsychosis, an in-game mental illness leading to a general loss of humanity that can be brought upon by installing too much cyberware into your body. As a result, Maelstrom members will attack nearly anyone outside their crews.
Given their extreme body modification, Maelstrom is one of the smaller gangs in the city, numbering at 1,300. But their combat mods more than make up for lack of numbers, as they can be quite challenging to face and can sustain otherwise fatal injuries. Their primary turf is the industrial area of the Watson District, where they are in conflict with the Tyger Claws gang.
Tyger Claws
A primarily Asian gang, the Tyger Claws are among the largest and most powerful gangs in the city. They employ methods inspired by both Japan's Yakuza and China's Triads. Their primary source of income involves trafficking and prostitution, but they use more legit businesses as fronts and money laundering than any other gang.
The organization is highly rumored to be backed by the Japanese Corporation Arasaka, who supply them with top of the line weapons and cybernetic augmentations. In return, the Tyger Claws will occasionally receive jobs that the above-board company can't afford to be involved in. One of their leaders is Wakako Okada, a fixer who will sometimes have jobs for the player. The gang's leadership prefers to handle matters through business if it can be helped, but they aren't afraid of getting their hands dirty if push comes to shove.
Valentinos
An old gang with a history that goes back to when Night City was first founded, the Valentinos are one of the more traditional crime syndicates, following orthodox Christianity. While primarily a Latino gang, they are not above accepting new members from other ethnic groups. They value honor and loyalty so much that those who betray the gang are made an example, while those who sacrifice their lives become martyrs.
From their Turf within the Heywood District, they are one of the largest gangs in the city, numbering more than 6,000 strong. Using the loyalty they cultivated from the local communities, the Valentinos own many legitimate businesses they use for laundering or as a cover for illegal activity such as car theft, gun smuggling and robbery. Regardless of the life path chosen by the player, one of their early contacts is Jackie Welles, an ex-Valentino member who still does jobs for them as a mercenary.
Voodoo Boys
One of the more mysterious gangs of the city, the Voodoo Boys are a Haitian gang based in what remains of the Pacifica District, just south of the rest of the city. In 2062, global warming leads to the entirety of Haiti being swallowed by the ocean, with refugees making their way to the West Coast. Originally built as a luxury resort town, Pacifica was abandoned and turned into nothing short of an active war zone, where even the police avoid patrolling there. This has led to the Voodoo Boys becoming the de facto leaders and guardians of Haitian refugees' safety and interests.
The gang is infamous as Netrunners, extremely skilled hackers that can hack into the Net and any systems or cyberware its connected to. These runners are highly valuable for the information they can get their hands on, which they then sell to fixers. The Voodoo Boys' primary goal, however, is to eventually break through the Net's Blackwall, a virtual wall that keeps hackers from accessing the AI's that manage world infrastructure and wreaking havoc.
The Mox
The newest gang to join the struggle for Night City's streets, The Mox is mostly made up of sex workers, anarchists, punks and sexual minorities. The gang was formed shortly after the murder of Lizzie Borden, a strip club owner who treated her employees fairly and protected them, often defying gang members in the process. She was killed when the Tyger Claws raided her bar in 2076. This caused outrage, leading to riots throughout the city that targeted the Claws and many other gangs, with the Moxe's forming shortly afterward.
The Mox was formed primarily for mutual self-defense; thus, the gang is not as territorial or ambitious as other organizations. Besides Lizzie's Bar, they own only a few other establishments in the Watson District and rarely venture beyond what little turf they control. Although a very small gang of just a few hundred members, they're not afraid to fight for what little they have.