Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Creator Sees Fans Reassessing Season 1 and Season 2

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners creator Bartosz Sztybor has observed an evolving response from viewers comparing the anime's first two seasons. While some fans initially expressed disappointment that season 2 did not simply recreate the experience of the David Martinez story, Sztybor says he is now seeing more discussion that places the newer season above its acclaimed predecessor.

The reaction is notable because season 1 became an immediate landmark for the Cyberpunk universe, winning over viewers with a focused tragedy centered on David, Lucy, and the brutal cost of trying to rise above Night City's social order. Season 2 takes a different route: it tells a separate story, shifts to an ensemble of four protagonists, and introduces the major threat of an AI weapon. That distinction has naturally fueled debate, but Sztybor has emphasized that comparison need not mean treating one installment as a replacement for the other.

"I'm happy all of you discuss which season is better," Sztybor wrote on social media. "There were (still are) disappointed voices that S2 is not S1, but I see now more people saying S2 is superior and S1 was meh."

His broader point is that the series was made to build across seasons rather than discard what came before. Sztybor added that season 2 could not exist without season 1, while also arguing that the second installment completes the first. He compared the relationship through its characters: Capri and D., as well as Lucy and David.

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Two Stories, One Night City Conversation

Season 1 of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners followed David Martinez, an ambitious young netrunner attempting to make a name for himself amid the gangs, corporations, criminals, and merciless systems of Night City. David's journey was intimate even when the stakes grew enormous. His ascent as an Edgerunner, his relationship with Lucy, and the pressure created by both enemies and his own increasingly dangerous choices gave the season its emotional identity.

The story did not offer the reassuring shape of a conventional power fantasy. Instead, it presented a character whose rise was inseparable from the forces pulling him toward disaster. That tragic foundation was a major reason the first season left such a strong impression. It also meant that any follow-up would face an unusually difficult challenge: viewers attached not just to the setting, but to a particular cast, relationship, and emotional conclusion.

Season 2 does not attempt to put David back at the center. Set after the first season's events, it revolves around D., Talia, Weak, and Roman as they navigate Night City after an AI weapon enters the world. The change in protagonists creates room for another view of the city and its dangers, but it also makes season 2 fundamentally different in construction and tone from the David Martinez story.

That difference appears to be at the heart of the split audience response. For some viewers, season 1's concentrated focus and devastating character arc are the defining version of Edgerunners. For others, season 2's multiple leads, fresh conflict, and wider set of perspectives may make it the more compelling season. Neither view is especially surprising for an anthology-style continuation built in the shadow of such a popular first installment.

Why David Still Matters in Season 2

Even with a new central group, season 2 retains connections to the events and legacy of season 1. David Martinez is repeatedly mentioned, ensuring that he remains part of the world's history rather than becoming a forgotten protagonist once the series moves forward. In a city as driven by myth, reputation, and survival as Night City, that lingering presence carries weight.

Sztybor has previously explained that the relationship between the seasons was deliberate from the writing process onward. He described considering an alternate idea during the development of season 1: what if David had survived and, years later, become a celebrated Edgerunner? Ultimately, Sztybor concluded that David was a flawed and tragic figure whose story could not credibly end that way.

"I remember while writing season 1, I had a thought: 'What if David made it? What if he didn't die?' He will become this celebrity Edgerunner in a few years," Sztybor said. "But then I thought, okay, he's a flawed character and tragic persona - it wouldn't end well for him."

That abandoned possibility helped shape Weak's place in season 2. Sztybor said Weak was created in part to place the newer story in "constant dialogue" with season 1. The connection is therefore more substantial than a familiar name or a passing reference. It is rooted in a creative question about David's fate, the idea of survival, and what a person might become if Night City allows them to live long enough to turn into a legend.

That approach explains why Sztybor sees the two seasons as parts of a larger whole. Season 2 is not presented as a retelling of David's arc with a new face, nor as a clean break that ignores the emotional aftermath of season 1. It is a separate narrative shaped by the same city, its history, and the questions raised by the people who came before.

Critical Scores and the Audience Divide

The current review aggregates illustrate an interesting contrast between critical and audience reactions. Season 1 holds a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Season 2 stands at 80%, alongside a noticeable decline in audience votes compared with the first season.

Those figures do not settle the debate Sztybor is describing, especially because aggregate scores can never fully capture the reasons viewers favor one season over another. They do, however, show that the first run remains the more broadly established critical success. Season 1 arrived with the benefit of surprise, a memorable self-contained story, and the power of introducing the anime's interpretation of Night City. Season 2 has had to contend with expectations formed by all of those elements.

It is also possible for a newer season to gain appreciation gradually. Initial reactions to a continuation often revolve around change: new characters, new pacing, a new structure, and the absence of familiar leads. Over time, viewers can begin evaluating the season more directly on its own terms. Sztybor's comments suggest that this may be happening among at least part of the fan community, with more people praising season 2's distinct strengths rather than judging it only by how closely it resembles season 1.

At the same time, the creator's message leaves room for viewers who remain more attached to David and Lucy's story. His acknowledgment that there are still disappointed voices is important. The creative intent is not to insist that season 2 must be preferred, but to frame the discussion around the ways both installments inform each other.

A Continuing Debate Over What Edgerunners Should Be

The growing debate says something positive about the position Cyberpunk: Edgerunners now occupies. A series only inspires this kind of detailed comparison when audiences care about its characters, its themes, and the shape of its world. Fans are not merely asking which action scenes look better or which story has the biggest twist. They are considering how the show approaches tragedy, ambition, identity, technology, and the enduring machinery of Night City.

Season 1 remains the story of David Martinez's attempt to carve out a legacy before the city consumes him. Season 2 broadens the canvas through D., Talia, Weak, and Roman, placing an AI weapon at the center of a new crisis while retaining threads that point back to David's era. The resulting contrast gives viewers two different ways to experience the same hostile world.

For Sztybor, that contrast is not a problem to be solved. It is part of the design. Whether fans ultimately call season 1 or season 2 the superior installment, the creator's view is that the stories gain meaning through their relationship to one another. The first season establishes the emotional and thematic ground; the second revisits that ground from another direction.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is streaming on Netflix, and the argument over its two seasons is likely to continue as more viewers revisit David's story and spend time with the new cast. For a franchise built around the idea that legends are made, distorted, and passed on in Night City, it is fitting that the show's own legacy is becoming part of the conversation.