How to Play Cyberpunk 2077 with a VPN

Keanu Reeves in Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 is a long-awaited, futuristic game that features Keanu Reeves. Set in Night City, California, this open-world game has a larger map than Grand Theft Auto and uses the REDengine 4. You can do virtually anything in this game, and you play it in a customizable first-person perspective. After many delays, the developer, CD Projekt is ready to release the game on December 10th, 2020 for Windows, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One at 12:00 AM, GMT. However, the game will not be available for Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X/S until 2021.

With a crew of over 500 people working on this game, it promises to be as good as everyone thinks it should be. It will also be available for pre-download beginning on Monday, December 7th, 2020. If you have had your eyes on this one, there are several reasons why you should consider a VPN with Cyberpunk 2077. Here are some that are up to the task.

RankVPN ServiceOur
Score
Server
Locations
Visit
1ExpressVPN9.8160Visit ExpressVPN
2NordVPN9.487Visit NordVPN
3Private Internet Access9.295Visit PIA
4CyberGhost9.0110Visit CyberGhost
5IPVanish8.873Visit IPVanish

How to Use a VPN to Play Cyberpunk 2077 (PC)

I’ll use ExpressVPN for the example of how to use a VPN service to play Cyberpunk 2077 online. First you’ll want to download the VPN client. ExpressVPN offers custom apps for Windows, Mac and Linux. You can also download their mobile apps for iOS and Android devices.

Now that you’ve had a chance to download and install the software it’s time to connect. Launch the ExpressVPN client and select a server location. We’ll walk you through step by step using their Windows client.

ExpressVPN server locations

  • Since a lot of gamers like to connect to servers in the US, we used that country for our guide. ExpressVPN has a large network of servers located all over the world. For early access to games we recommend connecting to a server in Australia.
  • We recommend letting the client select your protocol. It is set to auto by default. If you want to test out different protocols then we suggest trying Lightway (UDP) or IKEv2 for the best performance.
  • Click the big round connect button. After a few seconds, you’ll see the circle around the button turn green. There will also be a message letting you know the “VPN is ON”
  • You now have an IP address in the USA, as far as anyone can tell online. As such, you can reach any site as if you were sitting there. The same would be true if you connected to a server in the UK or anywhere else in the world.

It is just that easy to do. Now that you have an IP address from an ExpressVPN server in the US, you can game, browse the Internet or watch shows as if you were actually there. Connecting to a server in the UK would give you full access to geo blocked sites there as well.  The same is true from any country.

As you can probably tell by now a good VPN opens access to content around the world. If you live outside the United States the service can help you access popular services like Netflix, Hulu and Pandora. You still need an account for services like Netflix but the VPN will help you watch US television shows and movies on Netflix as if you were sitting in the United States or any other region you would like to access.

How to Use a VPN to Play Cyberpunk 2077 (PS5, Xbox Series X, and earlier consoles)

Once again I’ll use ExpressVPN for the example of how to use a VPN service to play Cyberpunk 2077 on your game console. They are my favorite VPN for gaming because ExpressVPN manages a very large network which makes the service a great choice for gamers.

The first step to getting set up with ExpressVPN is normally to download the client software for your system. ExpressVPN offers free client software for Windows, Mac and Linux.  In addition to free apps for iOS and Android. Obviously that won’t work for PS5, Xbox Series X, or Nintendo since the game consoles lack the native support for VPN. Luckily, there is still a way to encrypt your gaming traffic and send it through a VPN. The answer is running the VPN through your router. Note: if you don’t need encryption you can use the ExpressVPN MediaStramer (Smart DNS) feature without the need to configure your router. It supports a wide range of gaming consoles.

ExpressVPN router app

Depending on what brand and model of router you use, it might support third party VPN services. If so you can get the necessary information from your VPN provider to set up a connection through your router. Otherwise I highly recommend FlashRouters. Their team takes popular, brand name routers and flashes them with DD-WRT or Tomato firmware. That allows the devices to have far more features than they would with the factory firmware installed. All FlashRouters come pre-configured with support for VPN.

Cyberpunk 2077 Game Highlights

Fans of movies like The Road Warrior, Demolition Man, and several others, will love this game. Since you are playing in the first-person perspective as V, your character’s customizable stats are influenced by character classes you can assume. Those are NetRunner, Techie, and Solo. Depending on where you are, the police may be alerted if you commit a crime. You must consult a ripperdoc to purchase and upgrade cyberware implants. The black markets offer military-grade abilities. You can play this game beginning at midnight GMT on December 9th, 2020. That means no matter where you are in the world, it is available worldwide.

Let’s take a quick look at the times you can gain access to the game.

  • Eastern Standard Time – 7:00 PM EST.
  • Pacific Standard Time – 4:00 PM PST.
  • Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time – 2:00 PM HAST
  • Alaska Standard Time – 3:00 PM AST
  • (For those in Brazil) Brasilia Standard Time – 9:00 PM BRT
  • Paris, France – 1:00 AM CET
  • Moscow, Russia – 3:00 AM MSK

While the game will release everywhere at the same time, some places will be better than others to play. That is because of the lag and popularity of the game. Unfortunately, that can cause a big issue inside your game world. Whether you are looking for a Cyber Truck or just roaming around, the solution is to connect to a VPN in a less busy area. When you do, the VPN provider will re-route you to the area of your choosing. That way, you can still play, but you won’t have to worry so much about lag. Another reason to connect to a VPN has to do with distributive denial of service (DDoS) attacks. If you are not aware, those can quickly shut down any gaming you plan on doing. Since those are server-based, you can escape the negative aspects of those attacks and play like you should.

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