NETFLIX ORDERS ANIME SERIES CYBERPUNK:EDGERUNNERS

Netflix, CD Projekt Red, and Studio Trigger have announced an all new original anime series CYBERPUNK: EDGERUNNERS set in the same universe as the upcoming game, Cyberpunk 2077. The series will premiere in 2022.

CYBERPUNK: EDGERUNNERS tells a standalone, 10-episode story about a street kid trying to survive in a technology and body modification-obsessed city of the future. Having everything to lose, he chooses to stay alive by becoming an edgerunner—a mercenary outlaw also known as a cyberpunk.

CD PROJEKT RED, the company behind the Cyberpunk 2077 video game, is producing the series, with a creative team formed of talent from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and Cyberpunk 2077. The team at CD PROJEKT RED has been working on this new series since 2018.

Acclaimed Japan-based animation company, Studio Trigger, will serve as the animation studio on the series and bring the world of Cyberpunk to life with their signature, vibrant style. Hiroyuki Imaishi (Gurren Lagann, Kill la Kill, Promare) will direct the series along with assistant director Masahiko Otsuka (Gurren Lagann, Promare), creative director Hiromi Wakabayashi (Kill la Kill) , character designer Yoh Yoshinari (Little Witch Academia, BNA: Brand New Animal) and Yuto Kaneko (Little Witch Academia), and the adapted screenplay by Yoshiki Usa (SSSS.GRIDMAN, Promare) and Masahiko Otsuka (Gurren Lagann, Kill la Kill, Promare). The original score will be composed by Akira Yamaoka (Silent Hill series).

Our Take

Netflix has had great success in targeting it’s mostly game-console affiliated audience with series and franchises that they know and love. Examples like Castlevania, Devil May Cry, and Transformers showcase a streaming service that wants the hardcore gaming audiences to take a break from e-leagues by watching shows inspired by some of the biggest gaming/anime franchises of all time.