Johnny Silverhand is the literal heart of Cyberpunk 2077. You can’t escape him. He’s the ghost in your head, the terrorist in your memories, and the guy constantly smoking in the corner of your vision. But for a long time, he only had one look: the classic Keanu Reeves rockerboy aesthetic with the long hair and the Samurai tank top.
Then came the free DLC.
CD Projekt Red dropped the alternate Johnny Silverhand appearance as part of Patch 1.3, and honestly, the community had a collective meltdown. Some people loved the "modern punk" vibe. Others thought he looked like a corpo-sellout hipster who had no business calling himself a revolutionary.
How to actually turn it on (It's not where you think)
If you’re looking for a toggle inside your inventory while playing as V, stop. You won’t find it. For some reason, you can only change this from the Main Menu.
Basically, you have to back out of your save entirely. Go to Settings, scroll over to the Additional Content tab, and you’ll see the toggle for Johnny Silverhand’s appearance. You can switch between "Default" and "Alternate" there.
One thing that trips people up? If you change it and load a save, it stays that way until you go back to the title screen to flip it back. It’s a bit of a clunky system, but hey, that’s Night City for you.
What does the "Alt" look actually include?
It’s not just a wardrobe change. It’s a whole vibe shift.
- The Hair: This is the most controversial part. The long, greasy rocker hair is gone, replaced by a sharp, asymmetrical undercut/mohawk hybrid.
- The Threads: He’s wearing an open, dark suit jacket over a bare chest (mostly), paired with slim-fit pants and heavy boots.
- The Vibe: It feels less "70s stadium rock" and more "2020s post-punk."
Why the hate?
A lot of die-hard fans feel like the alternate Johnny Silverhand appearance spits on his lore. Johnny is supposed to be a guy who hates the system. Putting him in a blazer—even a messy one—feels wrong to people who view him as a gritty, chrome-and-leather soldier.
But there’s a fun fact most people miss: the outfit is actually a tribute. It’s based on the lead singer of Refused, the real-life Swedish hardcore punk band that provided the music for Samurai. If you look at Dennis Lyxzén’s stage outfits, the connection is immediate.
Does it make sense for the lore?
In the Cyberpunk Red tabletop lore, Spider Murphy once famously told Johnny, "You changed your hair," to which he replied, "Yeah, I do that."
The guy was a fashion icon in his own right. He wasn't just a soldier; he was a performer. While the default look is definitely the "canonical" version of how V perceives him (based on the engram's self-image), the alternate look works if you think of Johnny as someone who would’ve adapted to the 2077 aesthetic if he’d actually survived.
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Actionable Insights for your next playthrough
If you’re bored of looking at the same Keanu for 100 hours, give the alternate look a shot, but keep these things in mind:
- Try it for a Corpo Run: It actually fits the "Corpo V" vibe surprisingly well. It feels like a darker, more cynical version of the character.
- Photo Mode Check: The new hair captures light differently. If you spend a lot of time in photo mode, the silhouette of the alternate hair is much sharper for high-contrast shots.
- Mod it if you’re on PC: If you hate the hair but love the jacket, the PC modding community has already "fixed" this. You can find mods on Nexus that let you mix and match the original hair with the new outfit.
At the end of the day, it's a free cosmetic. Whether you think he looks like a legend or a "douchey hipster," it's worth toggling on at least once just to see how much a haircut changes the energy of those long conversations in the back of a Delamain.