Those still willing and able to play Cyberpunk 2077 are discovering Night City's secrets. That includes the many Easter Eggs hidden in its detailed map. In addition to referencing iconic gaming franchises like Mortal Kombat and Grand Theft AutoCyberpunk contains a reference to CD Projekt's previous blockbuster open world game, The Witcher 3, in a moment that might have flown over players' heads.

While she doesn't make a physical appearance, Cyberpunk seems to reference The Witcher 3's Ciri. This is made all the more interesting by the fact that Ciri actually referenced Cyberpunk's world back in her own game.

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Instead of Ciri herself, there is a bird that appears at the beginning of an endgame mission. As V wakes up in Panam's car, they notice it perched on the open window beside them. It quickly flies away, and V gets on with their business.

That might be a fleeting moment of natural beauty in another dystopian sci-fi game, but it has a deeper meaning in the context of a CD Projekt Red title. Ciri's full name, Cirilla, is derived from the Elder Speech word Zireael, which translates to "swallow," as in the bird. Zireael is also the name of the sword Geralt gives to Ciri in The Witcher 3. Notably, Ciri says in The Witcher 3 that she hid in a world where "people there had metal in their heads, waged war from a distance, using things similar to megascopes," which many have interpreted as a reference to Night City.

Additionally, the appearance of any bird in Cyberpunk is notable because, according to in-game lore, there shouldn't be any birds in Night City. All birds within 18 miles of city limits were killed because of the Avian Extermination Act, legislation passed in response to "increasingly frequent and deadly zoonotic disease outbreaks."

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With that in mind, it doesn't seem like the bird's appearance was a coincidence; what it might be is a compromise. Cyberpunk's director, Adam Badowski, was vehemently against the idea of Ciri making an appearance in the game. After fielding the question so many times from fans and journalists alike, Badowski claimed regretted that Ciri's Cyberpunk reference made it into The Witcher at all.

While making it clear that CD Projekt Red wasn't interested in following in Kingdom Hearts footsteps, he acknowledged that many members of his team were Witcher fans who wanted a crossover to happen. This fleeting reference may have been a way to thread that particular needle without Ciri actually appearing in person. Still, Ciri's own Night City reference lead some fans to hope she would make an actual cameo in Cyberpunk, and while it seems unlikely, Cyberpunk's upcoming DLC could still contain a Ciri appearance -- or at least more Witcher references.

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