"Cyberpunk 2077"'s highly praised police pursuit system, revamped since its 2023 update, harbors an unexpected source of inspiration: the classic arcade game "Pac-Man."
CD Projekt Senior AI Programmer Maciej Celmer recently revealed at Poland's Game Industry Conference (GIC) that the core concept behind Night City's intense police chases was directly inspired by "Pac-Man"'s ghost-encircling mechanics. 
During his presentation, titled "Heat, MaxTac, and Blockades: Police System, in Cyberpunk 2077 and more," Celmer disclosed that the game's initial police system faced criticism from players for being "too lenient and lacking challenge," prompting the team to completely overhaul the pursuit mechanics in subsequent updates. The revamped system is designed to be more stressful, strategic, and aligned with player expectations for open-world chases.
Celmer further explained that "Pac-Man"'s ghost pursuit design offered significant inspiration, stating: "In "Pac-Man," each ghost has its own pursuit method. We did something similar with vehicle chases; some police cars will charge directly at the player, some will choose to flank by taking detours, and others will set up ambushes at intersections." 
CD Projekt later added via email that the team aims to always preserve at least one "escape route" when players are surrounded by the police, making pursuits both tense and fair. However, given Night City's rapidly changing situations, the system can only "try its best" to maintain this.
This update introduced a total of seven police vehicle pursuit strategies, each strategy comprising two parts: the vehicle's spawn location and its pursuit behavior. These strategies switch based on factors such as player "heat" level and police alert status (relaxed, vigilant, combat).
The seven strategies include:
1. Approaching the player directly
2. Moving away from the player to readjust
3. Patrolling the player's vicinity
4. Setting up ambushes at the next intersection
5. Full aggressive pursuit
6. Searching for the player around the crime scene
7. Initiating a search from any location (fallback strategy)
From an aerial perspective, the police vehicle behavior patterns are strikingly similar to "Pac-Man": Players are like "Pac-Man" evading ghosts, and each police car possesses its own independent AI and pursuit logic, making chases more unpredictable and layered.
Celmer emphasized that the team did not want to simply copy other games' pursuit systems, but rather aimed to create a unique gameplay experience that blends nostalgic and modern AI design. He stated, "We just wanted to make something different, and the 'Pac-Man'-inspired AI design happened to be a perfect fit for "Cyberpunk 2077"'s police chases."
via： IGN