Cyberpunk 2077 has one of the most genuinely branching endgames in modern RPGs, and after years of patches and the Phantom Liberty expansion, the full picture is worth revisiting even if you played at launch. The Cyberpunk 2077 best endings conversation isn't about finding the "true" ending; it's about understanding which path fits the V you've been playing and which ones deliver the emotional payoff the game earns across sixty-plus hours.

Here's every ending, how to unlock it, and where it ranks among the Cyberpunk 2077 best endings by the two metrics that actually matter: narrative satisfaction and how well it closes V's arc.

How Ending Access Works

Before the specific endings, the structural note that changes everything: your available endings depend on choices made throughout the game, particularly your relationship with Johnny Silverhand (measured by an invisible relationship meter influenced by dialogue and side quests) and specific late-game decisions during the point of no return mission, "Nocturne Op55N1."

Phantom Liberty adds a new path entirely, accessible only if you've started and progressed the expansion's storyline before reaching the point of no return. This ending exists independently of the base game's original ending tree and is widely considered the strongest addition to the Cyberpunk 2077 best endings conversation since launch.

Save before Nocturne Op55N1. Every guide agrees on this because the point of no return is exactly that, and experiencing multiple endings requires replaying the final act from that save.

The Endings, Ranked

6. Sun (Suicide Ending)

The bleakest possible outcome, available if your relationship with Johnny is poor and you choose to end V's story rather than fight. It's a legitimate narrative choice for a nihilistic playthrough, but it denies the player any of the game's more interesting final missions and exists mostly as content for players who want to see everything rather than players seeking a satisfying conclusion. Technically an ending. Narratively the least rewarding.

5. Devil (Arasaka Ending)

V accepts Hanako Arasaka's offer to have their engram extracted and placed in a new body via Arasaka's relic technology, at the cost of essentially ceasing to exist as the person you played. This ending requires a low Johnny relationship and specific dialogue choices, and it's deliberately unsettling: you "win" in the sense of survival, but the cost is thematically the game's darkest statement about corporate power and bodily autonomy. Worth experiencing once for the horror of it. Not one you'll want to end your definitive playthrough on.

4. Star (Panam and the Aldecaldos)

V leaves Night City behind entirely, joining Panam and the Aldecaldos nomad family for a chance at a longer, if uncertain, life beyond the city. This ending requires a strong relationship with Panam built through her substantial questline, and it delivers the most hopeful tone of the base game's original endings: found family, open road, and a V who chooses connection over the fight. It's genuinely moving if you invested in Panam's arc, and one of the Cyberpunk 2077 best endings for players who want warmth over spectacle.

3. Temperance (Rogue's Crew, Solo Path)

V assembles a team led by Rogue for a full assault on Arasaka Tower, and depending on choices during the mission, this path can end in V's apparent death in a blaze-of-glory finale that plays as the game's most cinematically satisfying conclusion for players who leaned into V as a legendary mercenary. The mission itself (the Arasaka Tower assault) is the most spectacular set piece in the base game, and the ending's ambiguity about V's ultimate fate gives it replay value in interpretation.

2. Phantom Liberty Ending: "The Killing Moon" and Song's Path

Phantom Liberty's storyline, centered on the missing President Rosalind Myers and the fixer Solomon Reed, opens a new resolution path that ties directly into the base game's finale. Without spoiling the specifics: this ending gives Songbird's arc genuine closure, offers V a path that neither the original game's hope nor its despair fully captured, and represents CD Projekt Red's most mature, patient writing in the entire Cyberpunk 2077 experience. Among the Cyberpunk 2077 best endings added post-launch, this one is frequently cited as the strongest writing in the game, full stop, base game included.

1. Sun/Temperance Variant: The Secret Ending

The hardest ending to unlock and, by wide critical and community consensus, the best. Triggered by a specific, easy-to-miss conversation with Johnny near the story's climax (call Johnny from the rooftop at a precise narrative moment rather than proceeding immediately), this path lets V and Johnny work together for one final heist into Mikoshi with Rogue and the old crew, playing almost like a proper send-off for the entire cast. The mission design is the most refined in the game, the character writing pays off every relationship you built, and the emotional weight of the ending (which we won't spoil here) is widely regarded as the definitive conclusion to V's story. If you're only playing one ending, and you've built a decent relationship with Johnny across the game, this is the one to chase.

How to Unlock the Secret Ending

Because it's the one most players want and most likely to miss:

1. Build a positive relationship with Johnny Silverhand throughout the game (side with him in key dialogue choices, complete his personal quests)
2. Reach the point of no return mission (Nocturne Op55N1)
3. Before choosing a faction to assault Arasaka with, go to your apartment and sleep to advance time
4. Call Johnny from the balcony or rooftop when prompted
5. The secret path unlocks a new mission option not available through the standard faction choices

Miss the window and you'll default back to the standard ending tree, so if this is your target, follow a detailed walkthrough for the exact trigger before attempting it, since the prompt is easy to overlook on a first playthrough.

Which Ending Should You Actually Choose

For your first playthrough: let your choices guide you naturally rather than min-maxing for a specific ending. Cyberpunk 2077's writing rewards organic relationship building more than following a walkthrough, and the ending that results from your actual choices will feel earned in a way a guided path won't.

For the most complete narrative experience: play Phantom Liberty before your endgame and pursue its ending path. The expansion's writing is the strongest in the game, and Songbird's arc deserves to be experienced in full.

For the most replayable, character-driven conclusion: the secret ending with Johnny and the old crew is worth building toward on a dedicated playthrough, ideally one where you've maximized the Johnny relationship from the start.

If you want to see everything: budget for at least three playthroughs of the final act from your pre-Nocturne save. The Sun, Star, Temperance, Devil, and Phantom Liberty paths are different enough that seeing all of them genuinely changes how you understand V's story.

The Takeaway

The Cyberpunk 2077 best endings aren't a single correct answer; they're a spread of tonally distinct conclusions that reward different playthroughs and different relationships with the cast. The secret ending is the community's consensus favorite for its emotional payoff and mission design. The Phantom Liberty ending is the strongest addition to the game's writing since launch. And the standard endings, while less celebrated, each say something genuine about the choices V made across the story.

Night City doesn't give anyone a clean ending. That's always been the point. Pick the one that matches the V you actually played, not the one a guide told you to chase.