We spoke with Satoru Homma, Japan Country Manager for CD PROJEKT RED and Producer of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, about Lucy and her entrance into GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE-.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is back in the spotlight after the announcement of a follow-up series, Edgerunners 2. But a collaboration with GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE-, announced over a year ago, is nearing release. I had the opportunity to interview Satoru Homma, Japan Country Manager for CD PROJEKT RED and Producer of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, about bringing Lucy to GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE-, Edgerunners 2, and Gundam!
GUILTY GEAR is a long-running franchise, but hasn’t had any guest characters up until now. So I asked Homma-san what attracted CD Projekt to Arc System Works and GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE-. “First of all, I’m Japanese, so I can’t deny that I naturally feel a sense of connection with Japanese companies. Whenever local companies approach us with potential crossover opportunities, I always try to make them happen as long as they make sense.”
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And Arc System’s work was the perfect fit for Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, he continued, “This time, I felt there was really good chemistry between the anime-style of GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- and our Edgerunners IP, so I approached our HQ to discuss greenlighting the project.”
I attended the panel at Anime Expo to hear some more details before the interview. It was mentioned that Adam Smasher was a possible guest before Lucy was decided on. I asked how the team ended up choosing Lucy as a guest character and what other characters were considered.
Homma-san shared some more details, “Wow, thanks for watching the panel! Adam Smasher could have been an interesting character to feature, especially given the large number of people playing Cyberpunk 2077. However, I think Lucy fits GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- better because she’s genuinely an anime character, which aligns perfectly with the game’s anime style.”
And if you were hoping to see more characters from Edgerunners and the world of Cyberpunk in GUILTY GEAR, you may be waiting a bit. “For now, we don’t have any immediate plans to feature other characters in GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE-.” But that’s not to say you won’t see them in other games soon, Homma-san teased. “However, another video game crossover has already been announced with Wuthering Waves. With every project, our narrative team works hard to ensure that the characters feel authentic and meaningful to fans of Edgerunners.”
With the success of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and the announcement of a new series, I asked why he thought Edgerunners resonated with so many fans globally. “That’s a difficult question to answer, but I’d say it became successful because it was a true passion project for both CD PROJEKT RED and TRIGGER. The project began because a few people at CDPR were deeply passionate about making anime, and TRIGGER believed in us.”
Speaking of passion for anime, I wanted to know what shows grabbed Homma-san this season. His answer matched my own, “Not exactly this season, but I really enjoyed (Mobile Suit Gundam) GQuuuuuuX since I’m a huge (old-school) Gundam fan!”
Homma-san was also willing to share what he learned about himself creatively while making Edgerunners. “Since Edgerunners was a cross-continental project, I learned that there are significant differences in how a Polish video game company perceives creativity compared to a Japanese animation studio. As a producer, my job was to bridge that gap as much as possible, and it was a valuable experience that helped lay the foundation for Edgerunners 2 and other projects I’m currently working on.”
Moving the conversation back to the GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- collaboration, I wanted to know more about the music choices players will enjoy while they mix it up online.
Homma-san answered, “We’re bringing iconic tracks from Edgerunners, including the Opening Credits produced by Akira Yamaoka for Edgerunners. We’re also including some tracks from Cyberpunk 2077, such as Cyberwildlife Park by Marcin Przybylowicz, which is often featured in Edgerunners as well.” If you’ve watched Edgerunners, you’ll definitely be feeling those netrunner vibes during your matches, “There’s a lot more to discover in the game!”
And finally, I wanted to understand the narrative process for creating Lucy’s story in GUILTY GEAR and how it would relate in any way to Edgerunners 2.
Homma-san responded, “While I can’t reveal any details about the storyline of Edgerunners 2, we made sure that Lucy’s appearance in GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- feels authentic. You’ll discover the reasoning behind her arrival in the game and how she returns to her own world. We didn’t want her to simply show up in the GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- universe and casually become friends with the characters there. You’ll learn more about her journey if you play the story mode!”
GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- is available now on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5|4, and Xbox Series X|S.
