Players coming into CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077 not knowing much about the original RPG will be introduced to a whole host of characters who are actually much more significant and important than they appear. One of such characters is Alt Cunningham, the famous creator of Soulkiller.
Alt is first introduced as a mere romance interest to Johnny Silverhand. However, the truth is, she's much more than just a groupie. She's an incredibly smart and talented netrunner who created perhaps the most devastatingly powerful program known to mankind. And yet, so much of her remains shrouded in mystery.
10 Her Full Name Is Altiera
Alt's name might be confusing for some fans. And no, it's not a computer reference, as much as it would have been fitting and somewhat comedic. Alt's real name is actually Altiera Cunningham, which has multiple European origins. It's possible it could be a mix of Latin and Germanic languages and is most often found in Italy.
Alt's last name, Cunningham, however, implies that she's most likely born and bred in Night City. So much is unknown when it comes to her past, so there's only so much to know for certain.
9 Her Name Is Found At The Columbarium
The Columbarium is a place players might not go to until later on during a few select gigs or at the very end in one of the many endings. This is the cemetery of Night City, a place to remember those who passed away, including some of of the city's well-known NPCs.
One of the many names engraved here is Alt's name, found next to Robert John Linder. Alt's stone also references one of the Samurai songs, "Never Fade Away," which could also refer to her immortal, digital form.
8 Her Voice Actress Is Alix Wilton Regan
Alt's voice is another terribly familiar one for video game enthusiasts. Her voice actress Alix Wilton Regan has famously starred in multiple major gaming titles in recent years, including Divinity: Original Sin 2, in which she voiced Sebille.
Her most well-known role is most likely the voice of the Female Inquisitor in Dragon Age Inquisition. With how much her voice is heard in the game, it's no wonder many fantasy RPG fans have been able to recognize Alt's voice.
7 She Has A Golden Cyberarm
Many of the original characters of the Cyberpunk 2020 RPG game are very loosely based on their original character designs. Alt Cunningham, too, has had extensive artwork done of her in the past which painted her as sort of a bombshell with cyberware installed.
In fact, it's said that Alt once installed a golden cyberarm on herself, which mirrors that of the silver cyberarm Johnny has. In that sense, the two of them were clearly meant for each other one way or another.
6 Her Original Workplace
Alt isn't as independent as she's implied to be during the events of the game. Aside from her kidnapping, she did actually work in the corporate world quite a bit before making a proper name for herself. Long before she was on Arasaka's radar, she worked for ITS corporation.
It was for this company that Alt originally designed the Soulkiller, before the idea was stolen, along with her to benefit the needs and interests of Arasaka, as seen in the flashbacks witnessed through Johnny's perspective.
5 She Used Biosculpting On Herself
Aside from obviously enhancing herself with cyberware in order to become a better netrunner, Alt has been said to have used biosculpting on herself to alter her appearance and appear more beautiful.
In particular, it's implied in the original lore that she traveled all the way to Europe to have some of her body and face redone, giving her the appearance she has now.
4 Her Digital Form Escaped Before Being Recaptured
When Alt was kidnapped by Arasaka to do their bidding, she became a test subject for the Soulkiller. Her physical body is found dead by Johnny and the rest, but her digital form managed to escape from Arasaka's claws in the moment.
Unfortunately, Arasaka was able to recapture Alt during the events of the Fourth Corporate War and held her hostage within Arasaka Tower's Mikoshi.
3 Spider Murphy Rescued Alt
So, how exactly did Alt manage to get away from Arasaka Tower and free herself into the Net where V finally finds her with Johnny? It's all thanks to a character that deserves more credit than she actually gets: Spider Murphy.
As a netrunner, it was Spider Murphy who was able to free Alt from the confines of Mikoshi and allow her to roam the Net freely as a semi-sentient AI. This is most likely how Alt ended up retreating beyond the Blackwall.
2 She Created A Safe Space For People Like Herself
While Alt has been away and in hiding, she was busy creating a space that people like her could come to if they ever fell victim to the Soulkiller. This safe haven's location is still unclear, but it's possible it would have allowed Johnny to join her there too had he not been loaded into a biochip.
Some rumors claim that Alt's safe haven was located within Night City inside a server, or even all the way up in Canada.
1 She Had Different Plans For Soulkiller
The biggest question most fans have about Alt is why she developed Soulkiller in the first place. Alt didn't initially plan to create something like it. While working for ITS corporation, she created an earlier version of the program which downloaded the user's consciousness, allowing them to navigate the Net freely, without the hindrance of cybernetics.
This technology was then turned into a weapon by ITS itself, who decided to use it as a way to trap a person's consciousness, their soul, instead. It's this technology that the Arasaka corporation also grew hungry to acquire, leading up to Alt's kidnapping.