Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty's Chimera tank took two years and massive art budget to perfect

CD Projekt Red has shared behind-the-scenes details on Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty's Chimera tank boss fight, revealing the sequence took roughly two years to finalize.

In the latest episode of AnsweRED, the official CD Projekt Red podcast, game director Gabe Amatangelo and creative director Igor Sarzyński discussed the production challenges behind the encounter. "Sometimes we're making content that's a nexus point of different disciplines - the Chimera is a great example of that," Amatangelo explained. "It was gameplay, narrative, art, worldbuilding."

Art director Paweł Mielniczuk described extensive iteration on the tank's design. "I think when we were iterating, it was two years to make this boss fight work," he said. "We were iterating over and over." The team redesigned the tank itself four times, swapping equipment and weapons throughout development.

Amatangelo highlighted the balancing act required across disciplines. "There were so many moving parts. Sometimes it was too gameplay, sometimes it was too narrative, sometimes too art demonstration. It was about striking a balance."

Sarzyński noted the final result represented "one of the most expensive art assets I think ever." Despite the lengthy development cycle and budget, the Chimera encounter stands out as a highlight within Phantom Liberty's DLC expansion.