The second season of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners will be released in autumn 2026 on Netflix. With the newly released teaser and a character, it becomes clear that one of the worst gangs from Night City will take center stage much more than in the first season – and this could not make MeinMMO editor and Cyberpunk fan Caro any more impatient.
What gang are we talking about? We are talking about the Maelstrom gang, which was already seen in the first season of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners during an escalated deal, but will also be familiar to fans from the game Cyberpunk 2077.
If you don’t know it yet: Maelstrom is one of the most notorious groups in the already unsafe Night City. Only one other group is more dangerous, but still nowhere near as aggressive as the members of Maelstrom:
Maelstrom rejects the “weak flesh” of their organic bodies and is obsessed with replacing as many parts as possible with extensive and dehumanizing modifications. Because of this, they can already be recognized by their appearance, characterized by dark chrome, replaced facial plates, tubes, and glowing red “eyes”.
They also deal and consume illegal drugs and medications that send them into intense highs and barely keep them from succumbing to the cyberpsychosis that eventually catches up with them due to the many modifications.
The teaser for the second season of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners not only shows some members of Maelstrom – we already know that part of the new crew has a connection to the chrome-obsessed criminals. And as a Cyberpunk fan who found the gang fascinating while playing, that makes me incredibly happy!
Here you can see the aforementioned teaser:
From the Corpo world to Maelstrom
Talia Yang is one of the four protagonists of the second season and the only female member of the crew. She has a nearly cat-like design with her modified eyes, her hairstyle, and the way she moves in the trailer.
More importantly, however: Talia grew up in the corporate world but eventually became part of Maelstrom. Her official reveal on X describes her background as follows:
Having grown up in the corporate world but hardened by the challenges of Maelstrom, Talia became a highly independent personality and was shaped by the extremely violent and chrome-obsessed culture of her gang.
Even from the first visual impressions from the teaser, one can see how Maelstrom not only influenced her character but also her body. Because it has been nearly completely replaced by modifications:
(The images all come from the new teaser – Source: YouTube)
Maelstrom is terrible, but fascinating
The members of Maelstrom and their addiction to shedding their humanity are part of such strong worldbuilding in the Cyberpunk universe that I was already strangely fascinated by this group while playing.
I can’t wait to learn more about them, their ideology, and Talia’s past, which will presumably emotionally ruin me – if I recall the feelings from the first season.
I want to know what drives a person to shed their body, become a machine, and embrace Maelstrom’s ruthless chrome worship. And I think: We could see quite a bit!
In the teaser, in addition to Talia, other members of Maelstrom were also seen, including possibly Dum Dum, whom you meet in Cyberpunk 2077 before the encounter with Royce. This can be inferred from the arrangement of his six eyes and his head plate:
I am eagerly waiting for the release in autumn and honestly can’t decide whether I want to learn more beforehand or just want to experience the full ride during the release. Maelstrom would probably go for the latter.
Are you looking forward to the release of the second season as well? And how do you actually find Maelstrom? Let us know in the comments!
Even though I have been fascinated by Maelstrom since my first time in Cyberpunk 2077, I am not a fan of the actions this group can display. However, there is another gang that appeals to me more: The smallest gang in Cyberpunk 2077 is not afraid to confront the most dangerous criminals in Night City
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