The very first screen of Cyberpunk 2077 boldly declares “In Night City, looks are everything.” Despite this, you’re going to be spending a lot of time staring at your character’s forearms rather than the rest of them, which has led many players to wonder about a third-person mode—and, if such a thing exists, how to access it.
While it’s slightly unorthodox, playing Cyberpunk 2077 in third-person isn’t impossible, it just requires a specific setup and a little bit of know-how.
Is there a third-person mode in Cyberpunk 2077?
Unfortunately, there is no dedicated third-person mode in Cyberpunk 2077. This is in spite of a third-person mode being shown off in early gameplay demos and the game’s engine initially being built to handle third-person gameplay exclusively.
Why exactly this change was made midway through development is anyone’s guess, but players who want to enjoy their V’s looks aren’t completely out of luck.
V will, naturally, be represented in full on the inventory screen, as well as in mirrors scattered around the world. You can also enter Photo Mode at any time, letting you compose your own snapshots of V’s everyday life in Night City with a huge degree of customization.
Finally, every ending of the game will conclude with a third-person cutscene showing V settling into their new life, but while that’s certainly nice it’s no substitute for being able to observe their journey from an outside perspective for the game’s entire 70-hour runtime.
Of course, for those on PC, I’d be remiss not to mention the option of mods, which remain the only way to play the game in third-person. JB Third Person may just be the best choice for those dead set on playing Cyberpunk 2077 in third person, with over half a million downloads and a wide range of configurable options to tweak the experience to your liking.
Console players, however, are out of options and cannot play the game in third-person at all, which is a crying shame given the breadth of customization options available in this fashion-obsessed metropolis and how few of them are reflected in the default first-person view.
It’s entirely likely that a third-person view was just another casualty of Cyberpunk 2077‘s famously rushed development, along with the ability to choose the uninvited guest that hitches a ride in your head.
With the experience of developing one Cyberpunk game behind them, a completed Night City map, and hopefully fewer time constraints, one can only hope that CD Project Red will find room to have the currently in-development sequel include the option natively.
