An Enduring Mystery
Despite its incredibly rocky launch, Cyberpunk 2077 has never been short of dedicated fans. There’s a whole wealth of people keen to trawl through its expansive lore and pick apart every little detail of its sprawling world out there. And so, within days of its release, practically every secret, easter egg, and alternate ending had been discovered, pulled apart, and thoroughly dissected.
So, then–especially with CDPR’s impressive Next-Gen update and Netflix’s Cyberpunk Edgerunners raising the concurrent playerbase to the millions–it might come as a surprise to discover that there was one mystery that no one could solve. A mystery that no one is a single step closer to solving even after more than two years of searching.
This is the FF:06:B5 mystery. And, while it may look like a gibberish string of numbers and letters to most at first glance, to Cyberpunk fans, these six alphanumeric digits are as enticing as trying to find out who B. D. Cooper was, and what became of him, or if there ever was a lost city of Atlantis.
Frustratingly, this mystery currently appears to be just as unsolvable as those two. Even with a dedicated subreddit (and a wiki) pooling the collective knowledge and backgrounds of gamers across the globe and over two years of hands-on time with the game, very little (if any) progress has been made. But what exactly is this mystery, and where did it begin?
FF:06:B5
It all started when a number of players noticed a strange robotic statute on Union Street in the Corpo Plaza. Now, there’s nothing particularly out of the ordinary about the statue itself (at least initially), but what is weird is the string of numbers and letters displayed prominently on its front side, where one might usually expect to find an epitaph or inscription. The code FF:06:B5, set in huge red lettering. It is impossible to miss and certainly appears to have been put there intentionally by the developers to stand for something.
The only problem is, this code–if it is indeed a code–is not linked to anything else found in the game. No text logs or audio files mention it, no in-game posters or graffiti show it, there aren’t even any lines of dialogue associated with it. Players eventually datamined the game and still found nothing.
And then it got weirder. Players discovered a total of six almost identical statues scattered throughout Night City, each a different size, but with only two containing the code on their base. A subreddit was formed, and players began digging. But pretty soon, some started to voice their concerns. What if it was just a meaningless art asset, after all? What if they were barking up the wrong tree? Digging at a random spot in the desert and hoping to find gold? Well, that’s when Pawel Sasko (CDPR’s Lead Quest Designer) confirmed the mystery was real on one of his streams. He even said that if gave out just one single hint, it would all be unraveled instantly. So, there is something worth searching for, but it seems fans will have no luck trying to tease it out of the developers.
And just to top it off and prove once and for all that there really is something to this whole mystery, Patch 1.05 changed the color of the code from red to bright, glowing yellow, helping it stand out even more. The patch also added two new mini-statues to two of V’s new purchasable apartments, complete with glowing yellow codes.
So, what has the community uncovered so far?
The Code Itself
The code itself – FF:06:B5 – is, naturally, the biggest point of contention. What on Earth could it mean? Well, fans certainly have their theories, ranging from the believable to the completely off-the-wall.
The most widely held theory is that the sequence relates to the HTML Hexcode for the color “shocking pink”, otherwise referred to as a shade of magenta. But why? Is it referring to another clue containing that color somewhere in Night City, kind of like a waypoint marker to show where to go next? Maybe, but so far, players are stumped. The best possible link they have found is a number of smaller, similar robotic statues which have glowing eyes and orbs of a color very close to shocking pink. But whether these are another clue or a red herring is anyone’s guess.
Other theories posit that the code may be a set of coordinates to follow, though none have cracked where to look. Or perhaps part of a MAC address, though one that doesn’t seem to be registered to anything. Some have suggested swapping the letters to numbers (66:06:25) or vice versa (FF:0F:BE), but these codes seem to relate to even less than the original.
Others have even noticed the sequence shares a similar pattern with OP55N1, from the quest “Nocturne OP55N1”, which references Nocturne in F minor, Op. 55, No. 1 by Polish composer Frédéric Chopin. So, could this, too, be in reference to a piece of music? According to user Paracausality, yes. They believe the code refers to the group Fear Factory (FF), Album 6 (06), Side B Track 5 (B5), which happens to be an instrumental track called “Ascension”. Now, while this may seem like a word that would be carved on the side of a quasi-religious statue, that can’t be all there is to it. As interesting as this find may be, it’s likely just a fun coincidence.
A surprising number of fans have even linked the code to Final Fantasy VI (FF:06), as well as areas and bosses that the final “B5” might be referring to. But this seems to be one of the most “out there” theories. If you want to lose yourself down the rabbit hole that is this code’s subreddit, be my guest–it’s a fantastic way to while away a long afternoon. There are so many interesting theories to uncover–far too many to list here–but there is one more I would like to bring up.
Someone converted the code’s Decimal value (with two extra zeros added to the end) into Unix Timestamp and got the date 18 December 2022. While nothing significant happened on this date, the Next-Gen updates for The Witcher 3 were released worldwide just five days prior, on 13 December. And based on what players found when they booted that up (more on that later), it makes for one eerie coincidence.
The Statues and the Monks
Then, there are the statues themselves. There are six in total, found in different spots around Night City, and all share the exact same model and textures. The only differences between them are their sizes and the fact that only two show the FF:06:B5 code.
So what’s going on here? The statues depict a robotic humanoid figure from the waist up, with four arms – two holding a truly massive sword, one holding an orb, and one with its hand open and palm out. Below the waist, there appears to be a very distinct and unique circuitry design. At a glance, the statues look very much like a futuristic take on real-life Buddhist statues. But are they hiding something more?
So far, nothing concrete has been found relating to them. Nor has it been confirmed that there are only six–especially as one is located on the side of a building and is almost impossible to reach without mods.
One of many theories suggests following the swords in the direction they point. But, so far, nothing has been found by putting this one to the test. Another theory suggests that the orbs may have something to do with the orbs the smaller statues hold – the ones that glow shocking pink. Or that they might link to the Conjunction of the Spheres, which brought monsters to the Witcher universe.
But the weirdest of all might be the three monks that can always be found meditating in front of the statue in Corpo Plaza. Every day, these monks come and meditate without fail. And they always repeat the same four lines:
- “Ommmmmmm…”
- “My apprentice! Your throat chakra is blocked! Activate the meridians on the roof of your mouth.”
- “Remember, all of you. As we sing, we stimulate the energy channels.”
- “You must toss aside whatever is holding you back, focus only on the healing vibrations.”
Do these words, these references to chakras and energy, mean anything? A cryptic message for players to follow to unlock the next step? Possibly. But, stranger still, these monks do not appear to be following the true Buddhist teachings, as other all monks found around Night City do without fail.
These monks have tattoos and jewelry, bizarre hair, and ornamentation on their robes. And these details remain consistent, no matter the time, day, or player visiting them. It all appears to be deliberate. But why? Are these fake monks? Buddhists who found a new calling in the FF:06:B5 code? And that’s not even mentioning the strange “Zen Master” monk, whom V can pay increasingly larger sums (all numbers in the Fibonacci Sequence) to receive odd prayers.
It seems players are no closer to answering these questions than they were two years ago. And every new potential clue only seems to lead to at least a dozen more questions. It looks like players will never know the truth.
At least, it did, until the Next-Gen update for The Witcher 3 came along.
Enter The Witcher
Hidden amongst the new 4K visuals, improved framerate, and Netflix-inspired armors, is a secret. While wandering through the fields of Velen, post-patch, in The Witcher 3, players can find a mysterious broken tower. This tower was present in the base game, where it merely acted as set-dressing, but now players can find three switches hidden in the surrounding ruins. Flipping the switches spawns a golem in a nearby field. Killing the golem activates a portal that spits Geralt out at the very top of the ruined tower. So far, so Witcher. But by making their way down to the bottom of this tower into a new subterranean basem*nt, players found something odd: a number of unkillable wraiths guarding two pillars and a strangely familiar mural on the far wall.
The pillars contain crystals that can be activated to open a portal to return to the outside world. Whereas the mural is of a triangle surrounded by three circles, which in turn, are surrounded by an ouroboros. And what drew the eye of the FF:06:B5 community is the fact that the mural’s central triangle is painted shocking pink and bares the same circuitry motif as the four-armed robotic statues in Cyberpunk 2077.
Along with this, there are scrawlings within the circles and around the edges that can be translated to form a new string of letters. A code that once again starts with FF. Are these part of a cypher to help decode FF:06:B5? Or are they something else entirely? A new piece of the puzzle that results in even more questions than answers?
Interestingly, this new symbol (minus the text and colors) can already be found in The Witcher 3 base game. It seems to have something to do with vampirism; showing up on Regis’ gloves, in Tesham Mutna, and in the cave of the Unseen Elder–all vampires and vampire lairs. Within the Unseen Elder’s lair, specifically, the symbol can be found near the sealed gateway to the vampire homeworld. Interestingly, in the tabletop RPG Cyberpunk is based on, there is a well-known conspiracy theory that the Corpo elites might be vampires, considering how long they tend to live.
Could this be a hint at future Cyberpunk 2077 DLC? Something that might be uncovered in the Phantom Liberty expansion? Or might it even be setting up the game’s sequel? Whatever the case, this symbol certainly appears to be a step in the right direction.
So, while the answers may still be a long way off yet, this community is far from throwing in the towel. Every day, more and more fans post their thoughts and theories. Every day, tantalizing new clues are discovered and debated. Even if the answers are never found, this one little code has brought players from all over together over a common goal and brought out the detective in everyone.
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