A sales pitch of sorts from CD Projekt Red for the Cyberpunk 2077 Update 2.3 has resulted in a ripple among the audience owing to the single detail—the arrival of Brendan, the sentient vending machine, into the Photo Mode. Hence begins the brew of “what if” scenarios, where maybe our favorite soda-dispensing buddy might consider photobombing their friends on adventures in Night City.
Spotted on the Cyberpunk 2077 official Twitter in the pre-Konpeki Plaza screenshot with the caption: “Look closer at this pre-Konpeki snapshot — anything look out of place?” Players did. The picture featured V, Jackie, and Dex standing together, but the real star was Brendan, chilling in the background like he owns the place.
The reaction came from gamers. Some were ecstatic about it: “My Brendan is as dead as Jackie,” said a player, referring to the vending machine’s tragic fate in a side quest in-game. Other cases of whimsical imagination arose: “I wish we could replace the crappy vending machine in our apartment with Brendan,” said CrimVicious.
Others were not so pleased. “Too much focus on photo mode,” Pepo commented, sour about bigger updates such as New Game+ or console mod support being neglected, while another user gave him a reason to hate more: “Who is that guy standing in V’s spot?”
Brendan is, for those who missed his storyline, a self-aware vending machine with a surprising range of personality traits. His storyline was one of the funnier moments in the game, mixing some laughs with existential terror—a trademark of Cyberpunk—everybody’s favorite memory. Update 2.3 makes him available for insertion into any scene through photo mode, thus opening the doors for limitless meme potential.
And the speculations grew even crazier from there: “A S.C.S.M with Silverhand’s mind in it,” Ad3pt.net suggested, while Ian Ilano claimed he had found deleted files hinting at more vending machine lore. Then, “PS5 pro patch please,” and “when new DLC with crystal palace?” followed, because Cyberpunk players never stop.
Cyberpunk 2077 “The sticky fingertip” Update 2.3 lets them continue building the wonderful world of Night City with additions to Photo Mode, meaning the people at CD Projekt Red still have fun. Update 2.3 is yet another reason to suck you back in, whether you come for the story, the glitches, or just for the weird charm of Brendan.
So go on, start marking your shots in Photo Mode, pop open a can of whatever—Brendan might have, and start working on that batch of “what if” moments. But don’t ask him about the meaning of life—things might get way too real.
