Night City is a city in the process of rebuilding even now. The old Neighborhood Zones of the 2020 period have been rearranged, renamed, or even scraped off into the Bay if they're still too radioactive. Instead of neighborhoods, locals now refer to these mew areas based on the type of environment they're dominated by: Hot Zone, Rebuilding Urban Center, Executive Zone, Overpacked Suburbs, Reclaimed Perimeter, and The Open Road.
| Zone Type |
Description |
| Hot Zone |
The area most affected by the Night City Nuke, this is blasted terrain full of wrecked, twisted skyscrapers, burned-out vehicles, and entombed bodies of the unlucky. |
| Rebuilding Urban Center |
These are parts of the city that escaped the worst of both the War and the bomb. in the Rebuilding Center, cranes and construction gear are everywhere, building new Corporate towers and crowded urban megabuildings. |
| Executive Zone |
This is a special area of the City that has been cordoned off and gated for the use of High-Level Corporate executives and their families only. |
| Combat Zone |
The most dangerous and lawless part of the city which grew out of the original Combat Zone in the wake of the 4th Corporate War. The only justice here comes from the barrel of a gun. |
| Overpacked Suburbs |
Now filled with sprawling tent cities and unregulated refugee camps crammed with the displaced of the War, this is a place on the edge of disaster, where once safe and secure "Beavervilles" stood. |
| Reclaimed Perimeter |
This is the area just outside the City's sprawl. On the edge of lawlessness, save for the area controlled by the Nomad Families. |
| The Open Road |
This is the open highway, populated only by people in transit or roving boostergangs on spiky ground cars and motorcycles. |
In addition to this urban re-designation, each new area has now been given a Threat Rating by the City Council: a designation of just how dangerous the area is and what kind of threats might be encountered there. You can find more about these Threat Ratings below.
Threat Ratings
In Night City, Threat Ratings are used to profile armed opponents and levels of overall danger that may be encountered within major areas of the City. Here's a brief rundown on each:
| Threat Rating |
Description |
| Executive |
This is a secure gated neighborhood which is only accessible to the ultra-rich and powerful, who live there, playing golf and tennis under the protection of armed security. This is connected to the Rebuilding Urban Center via maglev so you can go to work. |
| Corporate |
These are parts of the city patrolled by Corporate security which are safe from the carnage of the Combat Zone. However, they have their own kind of danger. Danger with a much higher budget. |
| Moderate |
These are the parts of the city that exude out of Corporate Zones, where the people who can't afford to live there do so here in relative safety... that is compared to the carnage of the Combat Zones. Unfortunately, what happens in the Combat Zones doesn't always stay there, and sometimes it leaks into the Moderate Zone. |
| Combat |
These are the worst places in the city, where people die, and nobody cleans it up afterwards. |
| Outskirts |
This is the area just outside the City's sprawl... The only laws here are the ones you make for yourself. Likely, you'll only run into road gangers and Nomads if you're out here. |
Note that while the majority of a region might fit into a specific Threat Rating that doesn't mean a region may not have other Threat Ratings in and around the main classification. An area undergoing reconstruction or gentrification may have several Threat Ratings, or even be transitioning from one Rating type to another.
Night City Zones
Night City Map
Change is Coming
In the Time of the Red, Night City is a city in the midst of massive change. Areas are constantly being rebuilt. The first temporary housing is rapidly being replaced by a new generation of gigantic mega-buildings. Modeled after the old New Harbor Mall Arcology (which was destroyed by shellfire in 2022), these towering structures encompass living spaces, entertainment, food courts, and shopping malls all in their centralized hubs. As time goes on, these will probably evolve to be the main habitable space in Night City.
The New Un-Normal
Services are spotty, the law is chancy, and you can't run the NET to the edge of space anymore, much less grab an Orbital Air luxury flight up to the Crystal Palace. But in general, things still work in Night City. You may not be able to get the latest digital Agent or the best weapons on the market (there's still a major problem with supply chains that were disrupted by the War), but thanks to the explosion of rooftop and green-wall gardens, bandit solar collectors, and refabbed hardware from your friendly neighborhood Tech, you're actually eating better (when you eat), have access to more reliable power and gear, and can even count on the local Fixer setting you up with new drugs and new cyberware right off the (illicit) Streets.
It's not the Golden Age of the 2020s, choomba. But The Street still works.
