The Districts & Badlands Of Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077’s Night City is vast concrete jungle distributed into 6 main districts (Watson, Westbrook, City Centre, Heywood, Santo Domingo and Pacifica and the surrounding Badlands) which houses a multitude of sub-districts all with their unique architecture, atmosphere and people. Explore Night City and it’s districts more below.

Watson

The district of Watson used to be the go to locale in Night City featuring everything from Nightclubs to skyscrapers, to corporate offices to a top end med center and even the biggest black market in Night City. After the Unification War and the subsequent return of Saburo Arasaka and Arasaka Corp, the Japanese megacorporation bled all other corporations dry, and as a result allowed gangs like the Maelstrom and Tyger Claws to take their dispute with one another to the streets.

Watson is now one of the worst off districts of Night City in the Cyberpunk 2077 lore, largely housing low-income factory employees. Watson is filled with roadblocks brought about by the rich and mighty in the City Centre to help keep the poor and desolate out of sight and mind.

Little China

Our first sub district within Watson is Little China, which used to be an extension of Downtown filled with Asian immigrants from the Chinese Diaspora during the late 2040s. At one point in Little China’s history there were plans to make this area a “second” City Centre. Legally this also used to be the best place to obtain cyberware and body modifications, a title that has since been passed to Kabuki.

Low and mid tier corpos come here to indulge in the cheap casinos, strip clubs and to assert their power over the helpless & homeless. Although this sub-district is not “claimed” by any particular gang, you can find the Tyger Claws here from time to time.

Kabuki

Our next location is Watson’s Kabuki. Located next to Little China, Kabuki is a maze of back streets and alleys that was once the prime location for Night City’s Japanese medical corporations. Now Kabuki is one of the poorest areas of Night City with the exception of Pacifica, largely due to Arasaka’s vice-like grip over the region. At night Kabuki turns into a bustling market filled with shady characters and dealings. Illegal goods like implants, organs, combat drugs, steroids, prototype cyberware, synth-viruses and XBD braindance recordings are all here as are some of the shadiest ripperdocs in the city to supply you with illicit augmentations.

Many of these vendors and shopkeepers are supplied by the Scavs, a ruthless gang who kidnap unsuspecting individuals to harvest their implants, and organs. Scavs have a complete disregard for human life and get rid of the corpses of their victims ruthlessly. Tyger Claws and Maelstrom have a loose presence here, with the main gang of Kabuki being the Mox. The Lizzies bar is nestled within Kabuki and is one of the most popular braindance clubs and brothels in all of Night City.

Northside Industrial District

The NID, which is short for the Northside Industrial District, was once a functional cog of intertwined factories and working-class apartment blocks, but is now abandoned due to severe earthquake damage and lack of financial backing. There is no upward mobility here, but many Night City residents end up entering the NID for the promise of a steady job. The Maelstrom run this district and hide out in abandoned buildings, underground BD studios and warehouses. Their idea of R&R is hitting the local bar, the Totentanz, and letting the blood spill of anyone who even dares to look at them the wrong way.

Arasaka Waterfront

*Arasaka has strategically monopolized the waterfront and shipping access in Watson*

The final sub-district in Watson is the Arasaka Waterfront, which was secured by Arasaka Corporation’s interest in accessing the main shipping ports of Night City. This is an area that is off limits for non-employees and sees hundreds of shipments a month, which are all packed, sorted by and shuttled off to other corporate warehouses by automated robots. It is heavily fortified to keep all the scum of Night City out of their business and their bottom line.

City Centre

Next up we have City Centre, the heart of Night City. This was the site of the seminal event in the Cyberpunk 2077 lore; The 4th corporate war. This led to the destruction of Arasaka Towers, leaving a massive crater in this district. The rebuilding of City Centre has just recently ended with the reconstruction of the Arasaka Tower in the 2070s. The newly erected headquarters is surrounded by hulking skyscrapers and towering megabuildings, creating an impenetrable fortress of glass and concrete.

Corpo Plaza

Corpo plaza is home to Biotechnica, Petrochem, Kang Tao and ironically Militech and Arasaka who led to this district’s demise many years prior. Corpo plaza contains Memorial Park, a roundabout in the middle of the corporate headquarters in honour of the victims of the 4th Corporate War. Mid to low level corpos, corporate security, and the NCPD, all frequent this location and the airspace between the monolithic skyscrapers is constantly abuzz with the sounds of police aerodynes & corporate AVs.

Downtown

Next to the Corpo Plaza is the ever populated and newly reconstructed Downtown. This area is home to apartments, hotels, restaurants, and eccentric and elegant architecture. This is a district made for the socialite and the corporate snob alike. Posh galleries, concert halls and high end strip clubs line the streets, inviting the dense mobs out on the concrete with their overtly neon signage.

From outward appearances, Downtown seems like a relatively safe spot, but it is riddled with sketchy alley ways home to crime, drugs and sleazy characters slinging the latest black market braindance chips.

Heywood

Next we have Heywood, a district with a little taste of everything. The north of Heywood, closest to Corpo Plaza and city centre, features beautiful parks and modern architecture, whilst in the south the slums dominate the landscape with gangs like 6th Street and The Valentinos roaming the area. Heywood is often referred to as the “biggest bedroom in Night City” because most of NIght City lives here, with Latinos being the predominant ethnicity in this district.

Wellsprings

Wellsprings is one of the safer areas, featuring more modern buildings as “Time of the Red” reconstruction efforts peaked here during its second phase. Apartments here are one the cheaper side, but because they are largely from this second phase of reconstruction, they have more curb appeal than your typical Night City apartment.

The east of Wellsprings features more dilapidated buildings pre-reconstruction. Valentinos are prominent here with rumors of their smuggling operations being heavily centered in this area.

The Glen

The Glen is the new home of the Night City government. It is a state-owned subdistrict that features a town hall, the mayor’s office (home of Mayor Lucius Rhyne), a court, and an NCDP station. Around these governmental buildings the Glen is for the most part rich, clean and crime free. As you stray further away from City Hall, the gangs have a more dominant presence. 6th Street and The Valentinos run these areas, and many of the businesses here are owned predominantly by Latinos.

Vista Del Rey

The poorest part of Heywood is Vista Del Rey; flooded with crime, poverty and violence. Graffiti decorates what's left of the crumbling concrete walls, and gangs are free to openly roam the empty streets as they please. Whilst not a combat zone, this sub district is a major eye sore for the wealthy elite who are next door in North Oak and Corporate Plaza, who will do anything to avoid Vista Del Ray.

Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo is one of Night City’s oldest districts, who avoided much of the fallout and damage of the 4th corporate war due to its location. During the crises it was a provisional camp for Night City citizens and refugees looking for shelter. This population has since been dispersed into the city, meaning that 2077’s Santo Domingo is now the testing grounds for industrial projects and the home of the city’s power plants. This is a district that is constantly in flux due to corporations acquiring different pockets of land in the area for investments and new projects. These sites are guarded by corporate security and drones, and competition between corporations here has hit a fever pitch.

Arroyo

Arroyo is under constant construction, so much so that there you can find a junkyard next to an old nuclear power plant next to high tech corporate factories. Arasaka and Petrochem have a dominant presence, but not all corporations find success here. Corpo security is needed here otherwise gangs will start to creep into the nooks and crannies of corporate facilities, especially during heavy construction.

Rancho Coronado

Workers from Arroyo live in Rancho Coronado, a self-sufficient town in Night City’s borders. Cookie cutter houses line the streets in a similar fashion to mid 20th century american housing, filled with residents that are tired of the hustle and bustle of deeper Night City, or are heavily rooted in their factory jobs. There’s a lot of infrastructure here for such a bare bones sub-district, with it’s own bars, schools, parks, restaurants, and metro station. The NCPD are spread too thinly to accurately monitor the suburbs so the 6th Street gang reigns supreme here.

Pacifica

Pacifica was supposed to be a coastal retreat filled with tourist attractions, amusement parks and white sand beaches. That is before the corporations looking to make this dream a reality, pulled their funding during economic hardships. Nomads and Haitians, who had escaped flooding in Haiti, were recruited to build up the infrastructure as a cheap labour force. The Unification War of 2069 halted those plans, and left thousands without work and a place to go.

A Creole community lead by a gang called the Voodooboys, a group of techo-mystical netrunners, unified the locals and set up their operations in Pacifica as their self appointed protectors. In 2070 when the Unification War ended, the corporations tried to reignite the dream of a tourist mecca, but were met with resistance from the locales and the Voodooboys who had claimed Pacifica as theirs.

The NCPD was called in, and riots broke out, leading to the inevitable ceasefire from law enforcement as the resources spent at a mere potential was deemed not worth it. City Council shut down all services to force them to leave, but the Voodoobys persevered. If you are an outsider, gaining the favor of the gang is necessary to stay in Pacifica.

Westbrook

Our next district is Westbrook, an area that is largely touted as the best place to live in Night City, even though areas of Westbook suffered collateral damage from the Nuke of 2023, with the sub-district of Japantown taking the brunt of the damage. The two decades which followed this cataclysmic event in Night City’s history turned this locale into an empty husk, inevitably leading to it becoming one of the city’s worst combat zones. It’s restoration however meant that Asian corporations filled the void with skyscrapers and massive buildings, and Charter Hill and North Oak became the pinnacle of Night City.

Japantown

Japantown in 2077 is crowded with tourists at all times of day. It is perfect for sightseeing with its myriad of restaurants, bars, gaming parlors, capsule hotels and street food stands. After dark, Japantown turns into the perfect place to party, and blow your eddies on all the frivolous activities offered around every corner. The Tyger Claws run Japantown after the sun sets and will not take lightly to those who step out of line. Forget to pay a bar tab, or worse still, dine and dash and pray that you don’t run into the wrong end of their katanas and tanto blades.

Charter Hill

Charter Hill are for ambitious corpos who are right on the cusp of the upper end of the hierarchy, but who are not quite the top dogs yet. It’s a relatively new and well maintained district and houses mainly corpos although the odd artist, or musician with a decent following are present.

North Oak

The crown jewel of Night City is North Oak, the newest and most luxurious part of the City. It used to be fertile land and hills to the north east of the city, but after the nuking of Arasaka towers, it soon turned into a destitute place filled with refugee camps and favelas. During the early 50s, this area was cleared by the government, and through heavy tailoring of the narrative, was marketed as the new up and coming location. North Oak is now home to the untouchable elite, the top tier CEOs, investors, stars & musicians.

This is a lush area filled with sprawling estates and home to the Arasaka Mansion as well as Kerry Eurodyne’s personal villa. Some of these mansions enjoy their very own micro-biomes & artificially sculpted landscapes as well as tennis courts, exclusive casino clubs and in-house braindance arcades.

The Badlands

*An expansive view of Night City and the surrounding Badlands*

The Badlands are the vast desert and plains outside of Night City and the romping grounds of the Nomads, namely the Aldecaldos and the outcasts of the Nomads tribes, the violent Wraiths. Oilfields dominate the north, while in the east wastelands of chemical stews and rotting junk from various landfills fill the air with an unbearable stench. Acid rains due to pollution is a common occurrence here.

In the south, there is an open desert, a massive Biotechnica protein farms as well as a power plant. There are many surprises out in the Badlands shrouded in dry desert terrain.

Night City’s Districts