Back around IAAPA 2024, RePlay Magazine had printed a mention of a unique new arcade game that was going to appear at the show from LAI Games. It was mentioned as being a new kind of Mixed Reality (MXR) game, but that’s all we heard. The game ultimately wasn’t there, and all I was told was that Amusement Expo 2025 would be its debut event instead. That event is now just around the corner, and in prep of debuting this former mystery game at that show, we have a little bit of information on the arrival of CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077 to arcades, formally known as Cyberpunk 2077: Turf Wars. Here’s what little we know so far.
Note that this story covers a game that is still WIP/Prototype. Various aspects of the final game may change to what will ultimately be released to the market.
Cyberpunk 2077: Turf Wars
While I hadn’t considered Cyberpunk 2077 as a game that would make the jump to arcades, it makes sense that if it would, that it would be be a light-gun game. This is the case with what LAI Games has done, however, the implementation is not what you might expect. Although against the backdrop of a game set in the future, it also makes sense that they would do something other than just another shooter.
Here is the cabinet from some early renders that have been shared online. Note that the news was published in the print copy of InterGame Magazine, a European publication. As of this moment, LAI has not publicly commented on the game (and I reached out some time ago but there is no comment as of this time). I’ve touched these up as best I can, as they were heavily artifacted. The images on the left seem to be earlier designs and the one on the right closer to what we might see at the show, but it’s still too early to tell.
It is a huge cabinet, indicated by the specs of H:103″, W: 52.5″, and 155.6″ in depth… so a bit larger than your typical arcade basketball machine.
In case you are here for the Cyberpunk name and you haven’t heard of LAI Games, they are among the oldest game manufacturers in the arcade industry, originally starting up in 1958 in Australia. They mainly focus on sports and redemption games, but they have released some original and licensed arcade games over the years (including some light-gun games, such as their just-begun-shipping Kaiju Rampage).
Cyberpunk 2077: Turf Wars Gameplay
In terms of what we can make out about the gameplay, there are two mounted guns which appear to be metallic, and the right side render shows a small opening in the plexi. I would venture to guess, although cannot confirm at this time, that these fire something – be it a ball or a BB/airsoft pellet. If the latter is the case, this should avoid the trouble that Taito/UNIS’ OnPoint had, in that it would be impossible to point the guns anywhere outside of their mounted range.
But there’s more…
You might be wondering “how is this a Mixed Reality game?”. Take a look at a blurry image of the internal set up of the machine:
If you aren’t sure what you’re looking at, all of those circular objects are physical drop targets – just like you’d find in an amusement park shooting gallery game. The graphics are projected onto both those and the staggered surfaces, dynamically mapping the digital effects as the game needs. I’m sure it looks more impressive in motion than this, but for now, this gives us a good idea of what to expect. How many levels it will have though, and if there is additional depth to it beyond those targets, we’ll have to wait and see.
For certain, Cyberpunk 2077: Turf Wars will be at Amusement Expo 2025 in Las Vegas on March 19th & 20th. I’ll be there to play and film it, sharing information back to all of you. What do you hope that it has?
