As we run through the dog days of summer, it’s time for another big arcade game to start shipping, and for today that would be the release version of LAI Games and CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077: Turf Wars. Following its initial limited exclusive launch for Dave & Buster’s in the US, the game now is available for and shipping to locations across the country and world. Let’s take a quick look at it once again…
Cyberpunk 2077: Turf Wars – Background
Officially announced with its appearance at Amusement Expo International 2025 (AEI) in March and first revealed by us shortly beforehand, Cyberpunk 2077: Turf Wars marks CD Projekt Red’s first foray into the arcade sector. Crafted in partnership with LAI Games, they have taken an unexpected approach to the IP – many would have assumed it to take on the form of an on-rails light-gun game, as opposed to the distinctive modern interpretation of an electro-mechanical shooting gallery we have here. LAI Games are of course no strangers to carrying big licenses, having previously worked with the likes of Ubisoft on Virtual Rabbids (and look to again very soon), plus Rick & Morty, the Asphalt series, Angry Birds, and more.
Alongside Adrenaline Amusements’ Hot Wheels: Victory Lap and Raw Thrills’ Top Gun: Maverick, it soon afterwards started appearing at Dave & Buster’s locations across the US as one of their new additions for 2025. Now, following on from Top Gun, it is receiving its own full release worldwide. It’s worth noting that locations outside of North America have already been able to buy it for several months now (May was last quoted), but it appears most of the cabinets ordered are shipping out as part of this batch. As well as that, this full release also includes an update to the game; more details on that below.
The Cabinet
If you miss noticing this on location, then that doesn’t bode well for your eyesight – aside from the bold contrasting colors and a name that any gamer should recognize, this thing is massive, with a footprint that hits 52.5” / 133.3CM wide, 155.6” / 395.2CM deep, and stands at 103″ / 261.6CM tall. This is fairly close to having a couple of ICE NBA Hoops that are next to each other… it’s just a really big machine:
A good part of this is essential – given that the controls fire off some sizable airsoft-style pellets, and the guns themselves are roughly the size of an AR-15 rifle (maybe a little bigger), you need to keep all that self-contained with some automated way of collecting and reloading all of the pellets, which takes some mechanisms to get working. That and the playfield needs a little space to work properly, hosting 48 targets.
LAI have been proudly touting the “futuristic blast shooting effect” as a principal feature, which I take to mean the paragraph I wrote above, simplified into four snappy words. Perhaps that also includes the other unique element – the projection mapping, which turns this squarely into a “Mixed Reality” game, and allows for more variation than you would normally get with a standard EM shooting gallery experience. This is a brief tangent, but I do wonder how many laser tag arenas are working with (or at least looking into) the projection mapping route to make their arenas more interesting…
The Game
As for the game, we have a few updates to discuss. I have not had the opportunity to play it since its debut at AEI 2025 in March, and after the Dave & Buster’s launch, it appears that certain elements have now been changed and improved. As per LAI on social media: “A brand-new update has also been added which improves gameplay balance and elevates the guest experience”. Though we don’t know exactly what that means in practice yet, according to their website it still has the Story, Co-op, VS, and Sniper modes (they bill it as having three modes where you can play alone or with another player). To see the version that was available at AEI in action, here’s one of the videos I got from there:
For an indication of how it looks in-game, this screenshot also shows kind of what you see, although inside of the game itself, it has to map this to different surfaces at varied depths and tiers.
For those who won’t be satisfied without a traditional light-gun rail shooter, I doubt that there’s anything that could be done to sway your opinion, but from what I played, I thought it was an interesting and memorable experience. The guns feel realistic and heavy duty, and it is satisfying to shoot them, although aiming wasn’t always easy (particularly in Sniper mode where you have no laser or crosshair to where you’re aiming). Having targets change on each credit and the different play modes was a nice touch to bring replay value, however, I don’t recall there being a leaderboard or way to input your info to claim a score.
I hope from the feedback they gathered (and the update that has been applied), LAI have added a way to track/claim your scores, while also incorporating more characters and situations from the game itself, as that felt entirely missing from that earlier build I played. Of course, there’s only so much that you can do there when you’re dealing with target shooting, but still, it seems a waste to not use any of that when you have license that has this whole universe with characters, missions, and stories to pull from.
Fortunately, the game’s page on LAI’s website linked earlier does suggest that you do have involved missions to play now, so we’ll see how that has changed once I (or one of our readers) come across one in the wild. Would you like to see your local arcade venue add Cyberpunk 2077: Turf Wars to their mix?
