Cyberpunk: Edgerunners creator Bartosz Sztybor has a sizzling hot take about his own work: season 1’s finale, which crushed our hearts into a million tiny pieces, is a “happy ending” in his eyes.

“When people are talking about season one and the ending, the sadness, and that it is a ‘bad ending’ – For me, it is a happy ending,” Sztybor says.

As a (painful) reminder, the first season of Edgerunners wraps up in brutal fashion: the vast majority of Maine’s crew die, including Maine himself. Fan favorite Rebecca is dispatched by an unflinching Adam Smasher, before protagonist David – who had designs on visiting the moon with Lucy – bought just enough time for the remaining two crew members to flee, before being killed by Arasaka’s heavy.

“I mean, in a way, because it could end so much worse,” Sztybor explains, perhaps referring to previous comments regarding how an alternate David fate could have seen him become an unwitting tool for Asaka.

“Some of the characters, they are tragic personas. So it was impossible for them to have a different outcome. But in the end, it is somehow a happy ending.”

While Night City was never going to be sunshine and roses, Sztybor also warns that, fundamentally, his outlook on the Cyberpunk location hasn’t changed when plotting out the second season.

“I don’t think my worldview changed significantly before writing season two,” Sztybor states.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2 revolves around an entirely new set of characters, including veteran edgerunner Weak Kingsley, nomad D., chrome-infused Talia, and Roman, a child who wants to film on the streets of Night City. Will they break us all over again too?

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2 is released on October 20.

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