Cyberpunk 2077 Lifepaths: Street Kid, Nomad, and Corpo - what is your story?

In Cyberpunk 2077 you can be anything you want and play however you want, it’s all up to you, your decisions, and your preferred playstyle.

When you are creating and later levelling up your character, there will be no fixed classes, something that you would usually choose at the start of other RPGs.

Still, the completely classless system comes with three unique origin stories which you will choose from at the start of the game.

These backstories will give some depth to your character and place them (V) in the world of Night City - what V's story and past are prior to the events of the game.

People will react differently depending on your background (Picture: CD Projekt RED)

It will also inform V's relationships, at least at the game's outset, with the various inhabitants of Night City.

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Your chosen lifepath will be the first major decision you make in Cyberpunk 2077 and will create the foundations for how you want to roleplay your character in the game.

Whichever lifepath you choose, it will remain important throughout the game, with each opening up different opportunities, dialogue options, unique locations, and ways of solving missions.

With all this in mind, let’s go through the background stories available in Cyberpunk 2077: Street Kid, Nomad, and Corporate.

Street Kid

Streets are your home with this origin story (Picture: CD Projekt RED) 

Born and raised in Heywood, one of the seven city districts of Night City. Your motto is “Born here, live here, die here”. You see the neighbourhood as your home and its inhabitants as your family. It's a place where everyone helps each other, and that’s something perfectly normal for you.

You've spent your life running from the cops, committing crimes, drinking, and getting into fights.

You understand how things work on the street and you know who’s who in the hood.

When the job is done, it's drinking time (Picture: CD Projekt RED)

You are familiar with the black market for both weapons and vehicles, and there will always be someone to help you in your neighbourhood.

You will have solid starting Street Cred, which is a type of reputation in the game which can open doors, and wallets, for you.

Street cred will help to get the right information from certain people, access to areas you otherwise wouldn't, you “know people who know people”, and your reputation on the street is enough for shady vendors to offer you unique quests and special items for sale (stolen or counterfeit naturally).

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Your starting location as a Street Kid will be the El Coyote Coho bar in Heywood, where you will get the opportunity of a lifetime, but things will not go as planned.

Nomad

Life on the open road is what Nomads choose(Picture: CD Projekt RED)  

Nomads are people who choose to live outside of the chaos that is Night City, as they pursue a life of freedom away from the gangs and corporation that rule the metropolis. Well, for some it's a choice others are forced into the nomadic life for reasons they probably won't tell you. On the run perhaps, hiding, others lost everything in the big city and have nowhere else to go.

When you think of the Nomad clans, imagine something like the gangs from Mad Max or camper communities in the US. They live in the vast desert surrounding Night City and the blue sky is their roof.

Most of them are completely nonviolent, but there are some particularly dangerous gangs, like the Wraiths led by their vicious leader, "Dogkiller".

The Wraiths are a nomadic gang that you don't want to mess with. (Picture: CD Projekt RED)

Nomads have no one else and so bonds between members of Nomad families and clans are very strong. Nomads can always count on members of his family to watch his back whenever he’s in trouble.

Unfortunately for you, if you choose this lifepath, you will be completely alone as your character starts the game with his family “in pieces”, and you become “an outcast among outcasts”.

With no other option, you head to Night City, and from there your adventure starts.

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When you choose this life path, you will have a unique knowledge of the desolate Badlands region, a unique area outside of Night City, and special interactions with members of Nomad clans and gangs, with unique quests, storylines, and access to Nomad territories.

Some exclusive motorbike options will also be available to you with this backstory.

Corpo

Each man for himself and trust no one (Picture: CD Projekt RED)   

You’re a cold, brutal and merciless suit. Corporate life is the jungle where predators dominate, and in the jungle, the rules are simple: eat or be eaten.

Your motto is: “If I go down, you are going down with me”.

The corporate life is a life-long fight to the top, where a luxurious and prestigious lifestyle awaits, with a lot of money, power and influence.

But misfortune hit you on the way up and you were caught in the crossfire between two big corporations and were asked to pack your things - you were out. Now you need to start from the bottom all over again.

If you choose Corpo as your backstory story, your life in Cyberpunk 2077 will begin at the Arasaka HQ tower with a task to "zero" (eliminate) a particular target, but things will not go smoothly. Quite the opposite.

Soon, you will lose all your corporate privileges, but this lifepath will still offer you some unique options only available to people who understand the ins and outs of how corporations work.

You either give orders or are being ordered to (Picture: CD Projekt RED)

You will have access to some unique military-grade implants and cyberware, access to some high-security databases, and you will know people in high places, many of them who owe you favour or the perfect victims for blackmail.

You’ll also know how to act and think like a Corpo, which will allow you to infiltrate to some areas and events unique to corporations, without fear of being uncovered.

You will be able to deceive people into thinking you are a member of a corporation and your power of manipulation will offer you some unique dialogue choices during missions.

This lifepath is unique and probably the most interesting one, as not many cyberpunk games give you a chance to play as an actual member of a corporation, as they are usually the bad guys in the genre.

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And there you have it, each origin story explained.

No matter what will you choose, it will offer a unique experience with different gameplay elements, unique storylines and quests, special dialogue options, and different ways of solving missions and quests 

So, what will you choose? Our recommendation? Play the game at least 3 times, once with each background story.