New United States

"Imagine a world where Central America didn't become a battleground; where the U.S. solved its problems of crime, inflation and drugs; where the Cold War ended in democracy, not a succession of squabbling dictatorships ..."

- Dr. Albert Harper, author of History in Collision, 2015 (Cyberpunk 2020)

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or simply America, is a country consisting of 51 states (as of 2020) and various other territorial possessions across the globe. As of 2020, the United States has one of the highest levels of income inequality in the world, with 90% of the wealth controlled by 10% of the population. Over 65% of the population lives in squalid misery, and another 25-50,000,000 are disenfranchised, homeless "nomads" or boosters wandering the ghost towns of central America.

Total economic, social, and political breakdown began with the Crash of '94 and resulted in the disintegration of American society and its standing as a world superpower. The subsequent years would come to be known as the Collapse, and would see the deaths of roughly 100,000,000 people as a result of plagues, mutated viruses, terrorist nuclear attacks and complete ecological collapse. The disintegration of NATO and the hardline foreign policy pursued by the "Gang of Four" isolated the United States politically and economically; with trade wars increasing the suffering of the American people. On August 17, 1996, the U.S. Constitution was suspended and direct military rule was established to deal with the crisis.

Civilian control of the government was reestablished on November 7, 2008 with the first free elections after twelve years. However, the complete destruction of the American economic, political, and social fabric was irreversible. Overburdened by debt, homelessness, and corruption, many bankrupted city governments turned to corporations to take control of governmental functions and public services.

Behind the scenes
The United States of America is the primary location for Night City and the original Cyberpunk tabletop roleplaying series. Later sourcebooks expanded on the world, its people, places, and technology beyond the brief descriptions given to other countries in the original sourcebook; which largely focused on America, with a few exceptions.