A Cyberpunk 2077 player made use of a mod to change fate and save Jackie Welles, keeping him from bleeding out as he and V flee Arasaka. Since Cyberpunk 2077's release, mods have been developed to flesh out Night City and implement systems that players had anticipated such as flying vehicles, an interactable metro line, and third-person gameplay.
Marketing for Cyberpunk 2077 heavily featured Jackie, so much so that the mercenary from Heywood was assumed to be one of the role-playing game's most prominent characters. And he was, but not in the way many fans would have expected or hoped for. After meeting Jackie via whatever Life Path was chosen and conducting a gig with him, a job for Dexter DeShawn goes poorly no matter what the player does. The getaway culminates with Jackie and V escaping inside a Delamain taxi, as the former continues to bleed out from a gunshot inflicted back at Konpeki Plaza. Giving V the Relic they had successfully stolen, Jackie dies from his wounds in a scripted moment that shapes much of the proceeding narrative.
That just was not good enough for one Cyberpunk 2077 player, who declared "tonight, I saved Jackie!" and demonstrated the impossible occurrence with a series of screenshots. But, lo and behold, Jackie stands alive, albeit clutching his stomach and bleeding out. The images capture him very much not dead on the street, around Megabuilding H10, and in V's apartment, but it is, unfortunately, all an illusion perpetuated by the Redditor notlongnot.
It is explained in the comments that the Appearance Menu Mod makes this possible, which began as a means for players to change and save the outfits of NPCs. Since those humble beginnings, it has developed into one of the central hubs for Cyberpunk 2077 modding, allowing users to manifest vehicles, turn friendly NPCs hostile, further decorate V's houses, and spawn companions such as Jackie Welles.
So, to "save" Jackie they introduced the relevant asset to make him appear as if he had been spared an inevitable early death. The player even developed their own head-canon for the event, writing "my buddy was bleeding, and it was raining," and given that fast travel had been disabled, "I figure we walk home and deal with it another day." A reply reaffirmed the notion that "if you walk long enough he'll eventually stop bleeding," in a touching, albeit misguided, display of solidarity. For those still reeling from his loss, check out this incredible time-lapse art piece of Cyberpunk 2077's Jackie.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Reddit