Is Cyberpunk Edgerunners canon?
During a Night City Wire livestream in 2020, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners creators explicitly confirmed that the anime series is "a canon prequel story" to the events of Cyberpunk 2077 (via Rock Paper Shotgun). So straight away – yes, Edgerunners is absolutely official canon within the Cyberpunk games franchise.
The Timeline: How Long Before Cyberpunk 2077 is Edgerunners Set?
We know the main story campaign of Cyberpunk 2077 kicks off in 2077. Edgerunners specifically takes place around one year prior, in 2076. Across the 10 anime episodes, we follow young protagonist David Martinez across a few months of his life in Night City as he becomes an elite "edgerunner" mercenary.
Edgerunners serves as crucial backstory, showing us what the city and its inhabitants were up to right before the rise of 2077 legend V.
Edgerunners Timeline of Key Events
| Year | Edgerunners Event |
|---|---|
| 2076 | David Martinez meets Lucy after failing to rob Arasaka agent |
| 2076 | David joins Maine‘s edgerunner crew with Dorio, Kiwi & Falco |
| 2076 | Maine goes cyberpsycho, David defeats Smasher, crew dies |
| 2077 | Events of Cyberpunk 2077 with protagonist V take place |
Who Are the Key Edgerunners Characters?
The show introduces us to brand new protagonists giving us their origin stories:
- David Martinez: Main protagonist who goes from street kid to elite solo edgerunner
- Lucy: Talented netrunner who helps David after he fails to rob her
- Maine: Leader of a well-known edgerunner merc crew
- Dorio: Maine‘s partner and a tough, experienced edgerunner
- Rebecca: David‘s mother who was the original owner of the gun V inherits
We also see the early origins of Adam Smasher – the ruthless enforcer cyborg who later appears as V‘s arch nemesis in 2077.
Massive Viewership Shows Edgerunners‘ Popularity
Within just 3 weeks of its September 2022 launch, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners had already amassed over 50 million hours viewed on Netflix – making it an undisputed hit (via Forbes):
The show also has a stellar audience score of 8.8/10 on IMDb along with a 96% score from Google users:
| Rating Source | Score |
|---|---|
| IMDb Users | 8.8/10 |
| Google Users | 96% |
As both a cybersecurity expert and avid gamer myself, I was thoroughly impressed by Edgerunners. The show takes concepts and characters from the rich Cyberpunk universe, expands the lore, and delivers an emotional story filled with top-notch action.
Examples of Direct Links Between Edgerunners & Cyberpunk 2077
Throughout the anime we see explicit references tying Edgerunners back to the existing Cyberpunk games:
- Rebecca‘s iconic pistol from the original 1988 tabletop RPG is shown briefly
- In 2077, V later receives David‘s jacket from his Nomad friend Falco who survived the events of the anime
- Major characters like Rogue, Adam Smasher and key locations like Afterlife appear in both
- We see how cyberware services ripe people open to cyberpsychosis which features heavily in 2077
These direct references confirm Edgerunners interlinks with Cyberpunk‘s broader stories across mediums.
How Edgerunners Expands the Cyberpunk Lore
As an obsessed Cyberpunk fan from the early days, I loved seeing how Edgerunners greatly expanded on elements only briefly mentioned in the games:
- Cyberpsychosis Origin: We get an in-depth look at cyberpsychosis – seeing how replacing body parts with excessive chrome slowly eats away at people‘s humanity
- Corporate Corruption: Corporations like Arasaka are shown ruthlessly exploiting citizens; setting the stage for 2077‘s hyper corporate dystopia
- Night City History: The lawless, high-tech city has much more backstory along with cool areas like the Combat Zone
- Edgerunners Background: Loved learning about these elite mercenaries and how David went from street kid to legend among them
For fans like myself, all this new lore provides invaluable worldbuilding and context that enriches our understanding of Cyberpunk‘s intricate universe.
In Summary
From both an objective and personal perspective, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners offers a gripping, emotional story while also expanding the franchise lore as an official canonical prequel to 2077.
With over 50 million hours viewed already, positive reviews across the board and heaps of references linking back to the games – Edgerunners is clearly a hit amongst Cyberpunk fans. As a passionate gamer myself, I highly recommend all fans check out Edgerunners on Netflix!
