Cyberpunk 2077 Lifepaths Explained: Corporate, Street Kid, Nomad - Which Should You Pick? (2024)

One of the very first decisions you’ll have to make in Cyberpunk 2077 comes in the form of choosing V’s Lifepath. Cyberpunk 2077’s Lifepaths are Corporate (Corpo), Street Kid, and Nomad, and while some of these are easier to figure out and understand, others can be a little more confusing. In this guide, we’ll talk you through Cyberpunk 2077’s Lifepaths and help you decide whether you should choose to be a Corpo, Street Kid, or Nomad.

Despite the changes in the Cyberpunk 2077 2.0 update, the Lifepath choices have remained as they were in the base game.

Cyberpunk 2077 Lifepaths Explained

As we mentioned above, your Lifepath in Cyberpunk 2077 will ultimately play a part in how your version of V’s story will play out. The game has three different starting areas, one for each Lifepath, giving you a feel for V’s past before they all merge into the same main storyline.

The skills and contacts that V makes from each of these Lifepaths ultimately open up unique ways of approaching certain quests. We talked more about the background of each of Cyberpunk 2077’s Lifepaths and what opportunities these open up below.

Street Kid Lifepath

If you choose the Street Kid Lifepath, you’ll have spent the majority of your life in Night City. This Lifepath gives you all sorts of street smarts, and with it, you know the streets, the gangs, and the slang. You know what’s going on and are in tune with the rougher class society of the metropolis.

Having these connections to the rabble of Night City can come in handy later on in the game, giving you different options for completing quests and advancing V’s quest for that all-important immortality chip.

Corpo Lifepath

Fancy being a career-driven member of the Night City public instead? Then the Corpo (obviously short for Corporate) Lifepath is the one for you.

In this path, V will have climbed the ladder of the Arasaka Corporation (one of the weapons manufacturers in the game). The bonus of being a Corpo is that you’ll have more of a critical business mind when it comes to conversations with NPCs.

You’ll be able to read people, tell when they’re lying or when you’re best giving in to their demands, and you may have some acquaintances in high places that could benefit V’s quest along the way.

Nomad Lifepath

If you choose the Nomad Lifepath, your version of V will be a former member of a Nomad clan. This can be particularly handy, as Nomad’s consider their fellow clan members part of their family.

This makes exploring the deserts surrounding Night City — known as the Badlands — where the Nomad’s reside far safer for you to explore than if you chose the Street Kid or Corporate Lifepaths instead.

Choosing the Nomad Lifepath will have you trying to get into Night City from the Badlands for the first time, while the Street Kid and Corporate paths have you already within the city.

What Does Your Lifepath Change?

The main difference you’ll notice when playing different Lifepaths in Cyberpunk 2077 is the way in which V’s story begins.

Depending on the past you’ve chosen for V, you’ll have to go about reaching your first objective in different ways, ultimately giving you a feel for how V’s life was before they became a mercenary.

Outside of these opening sections, your Lifepath decision will largely affect future dialog options you’ll have with certain characters and will affect your relationship with NPCs. For instance, a certain Lifepath might introduce you to a character you’d otherwise cross paths with later, already giving you an in with them.

In Night City Wire Episode 2, Cyberpunk 2077 Quest Design Coordinator Philipp Weber gave an example of how your Lifepath can affect how you approach a quest.

He explains that when dealing with a quest that sees a Flathead robot stolen from a Corpo truck by the Maelstrom gang, a Corporate Lifepath would allow you to talk with Meredith Stout (a Corporate Agent investigating the theft) and know what she’s really about. You can read between the lines and get information that enables you to do something completely different later on with the Maelstrom gang.

A Nomad here would know more of the details about how the gang would have been able to perform the theft in the first place, allowing you to make an alliance with Meredith thanks to your valuable intel.

Street Kids in this example wouldn’t get any additional dialog options when talking with Meredith, as they haven’t had experience talking with the Corporate and upper-class citizens of Night City. Instead, when talking to the Maelstrom gang, your rough and tough persona allows you to build a rapport with one of the members, finding a new one to complete the quest.

Which Cyberpunk 2077 Lifepath Should You Choose?

Ultimately, which lifepath you choose is entirely up to you. There is no right or wrong option here. Instead, you’ll simply want to choose the Lifepath that most appeals to you.

Do you want to be a former member of the Elite gone rogue? Then go for a Corpo. Want to be a former Street Kid with all the know-how you’ll need to survive in Night City? Then the Street Kid lifepath’s the one for you. Or perhaps you want to be an outsider who spends more of their time out in the Badlands than Night City? In that case, Nomad’s the Lifepath for you.

For more on Cyberpunk 2077, be sure to check out our guide wiki or see more of our coverage below.