How to Start Phantom Liberty in Cyberpunk 2077

With Phantom Liberty installed, finish the main quest Transmission and wait for Songbird's call. The call adds Dog Eat Dog to your journal. Track that job and follow its marker to Dogtown. If you want to begin on a new character without replaying the earlier story, choose Skip Ahead to Phantom Liberty from the New Game menu instead.

1. Choose which save you want to play

Use an existing save if you want to keep the V you have already built and carry your story progress into the expansion. If you are before Transmission, continue the main story until you finish it. If you have already finished it, check the journal and watch for Songbird's call after returning to ordinary free play.

Use the new-game skip if you want a separate playthrough that starts near the expansion entry point. This creates a different V and starts from a later point in the main story. Choose the regular start if you want to make all of the earlier decisions yourself. Keep a manual save for your existing character if you are switching between the two routes, so you can identify the one you meant to load.

2. Start on an existing save

1. Confirm that Phantom Liberty is installed and available for the account playing the game.
2. Load the character you want to take into the expansion.
3. Complete Transmission if it is still active or has not appeared yet.
4. Answer Songbird's call once it comes through.
5. Open the journal, select Dog Eat Dog, and follow the marked objective in Pacifica.

If you have done related jobs in Pacifica, check the journal for Transmission by name. Finishing another Pacifica mission does not necessarily satisfy that requirement. If you just completed Transmission and the call has not arrived, return to normal free play and give it time. Check the journal before assuming it failed. You may already have Dog Eat Dog waiting as a separate job.

3. Start a new character near the expansion

From the main menu choose New Game, then select Skip Ahead to Phantom Liberty when offered the choice between the skip and the regular start. Complete the character setup. When you are in the game, follow the prompts and check the journal for Dog Eat Dog after Songbird contacts you.

Review the new character's equipment and perk choices before following the job. This is especially helpful if you used the skip to try a different style. You will be starting later than a regular new character, so take a moment to see what you have available and how it fits the way you want to play. Make a manual save once you are ready if you want a clear point to return to.

4. Follow Dog Eat Dog into the expansion

Track the job and use its waypoint rather than trying to reach Dogtown through an arbitrary entrance. The first objectives lead you through the intended approach. Keep following the job's markers and instructions until the game advances the objective. The video above continues into the opening mission, so stop after the setup if you want to see those events in-game first.

If you mainly wanted to confirm the expansion works, the appearance of Dog Eat Dog is the first useful milestone. If you want to play the opening sequence immediately, finish any nearby errand you were doing and set aside time before heading to the marker. That makes it easier to follow the job without switching objectives mid-introduction.

5. Fix a missing call or skip option

If neither the skip option nor the expansion job appears, check installation and account access first. Restart the game after an installation finishes so it can detect the expansion. If the skip appears but Songbird has not called on your existing character, focus on the save's story progress. Confirm Transmission is complete and check the journal for Dog Eat Dog.

If you loaded a save inside another mission or near the base game's ending, return to a free-roam save before trying the expansion introduction. Once Dog Eat Dog appears, use the journal to track it directly. The job marker is the clearest way to tell where to go next, especially if you have several jobs available in the same part of Night City.