Cyberpunk 2077's 2.5 update changes the frame counter as much as the game

CD Projekt Red published the patch notes for the Edgerunners 2 update on October 21, and 2.5 went live the next day. Most of the coverage counted outfits. The technology section is the part that affects how the game measures on your machine.

What changed in the graphics stack

Three items matter more than the rest.

DLSS 4.5 support, including Multi Frame Generation at up to 6X, Dynamic Multi Frame Generation, and the second-generation Transformer model. Multi Frame Generation inserts generated frames between the ones the game actually renders, so the counter can report a multiple of the simulation rate.

The FSR lineup changed. FSR 3 upscaling is no longer included. FSR 2.1 and FSR 4 remain, along with FSR 3.1 Frame Generation, and there is a new toggle for FSR Anti-Lag 2.

The rest of the list is smaller but not cosmetic: MetalFX Frame Interpolation on Mac, support for glasses-free 3D on Samsung Odyssey 3D monitors with a Motion Comfort slider, improved HDR rendering, and "various performance optimizations, including improvements specifically for Ray Tracing." That last line has no numbers attached, which is normal for patch notes and also why we re-run benchmarks instead of trusting them.

Why the frame counter matters less now

If the game renders 40 frames and the card outputs 140, an overlay that reads 140 is not lying about what reaches the display. It is also not telling you how often the game accepted your input.

Generated frames do not carry new simulation state. Camera movement, weapon handling and enemy reactions still come from the rendered frames underneath. At 2X that gap is tolerable for most players. At higher multipliers it becomes the thing you feel in a fight, and it does not show up in average frame rate at all.

Our position stays the same as it was for frame generation in Monster Hunter Wilds: measure the base frame time and the input latency, then decide whether the generated frames are worth it. A 60 fps reading produced by 20 rendered frames is a different product from a native 60.

Mods reach consoles

2.5 adds cross-platform mod support through mod.io, browsable and installable from the in-game menu on PC, Mac, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 5 Pro and Xbox Series X|S.

Two details in the notes are easy to miss. Modded save files are now marked with an icon in the Load Game menu, and achievements and trophies are disabled while playing on console from a modded save.

That is a bigger shift than the wording suggests. Console modding has existed in specific games with developer-run systems. A storefront-level browser inside a CDPR game, with save marking and achievement rules spelled out, is the first attempt at a general policy.

The content, briefly

Two new side quests: Clampdown, set before the events of the anime and unlocked after The Heist plus two gigs for Wakako, and Welcome to Paradise, narrated by Richard Night and unlocked after The Heist plus Street Cred 15.

The Double Trouble perk in the Cool tree, with four auxiliary perks, lets you dual-wield Power pistols and revolvers. Hand cyberware can be reskinned at five Glamdcos. There are new outfit sets at specific vendors, 12 Minor Arcana tarot cards, a new radio station, and photo mode frames and poses.

What this means for our score

Our Cyberpunk 2077 entry was tested on build 2.21 and carries an 86. That number does not cover 2.5.

We have not run the new build yet. When we do, the checks that matter are the ones this patch touched: base frame time with Multi Frame Generation off, latency with it on, FSR image quality now that FSR 3 upscaling is gone, and the ray-tracing optimisations the notes mention without numbers.

Until then the game page stays on 2.21, and the score is a statement about the build we measured.