Cyberpunk 2077 Welcome to Paradise Crashing at City Hall? Drone Disconnect Fix

Updated November 9, 2026

Cyberpunk 2077's Welcome to Paradise quest can crash during the City Hall drone tour. You might finish Richard Night's presentation, disconnect from the drone, and suddenly find yourself back on the desktop. In some cases, the crash happens just as the game appears to autosave.

Other players encounter a black screen when connecting to the drone, preventing the tour from starting.

If you're stuck at City Hall, temporarily lowering your graphics settings is one of the most promising workarounds. You may be able to get past the sequence without restarting the entire quest.

Here's what to try, starting with the quickest fix.

Quick Answer: How to Fix Welcome to Paradise Crashing at City Hall

If Cyberpunk 2077 crashes when the City Hall drone disconnects, try switching to the Low graphics preset before starting the presentation.

  1. Load a save from before the City Hall drone interaction.
  2. Open Settings → Graphics.
  3. Temporarily change the graphics preset to Low.
  4. If ray tracing or frame generation remains enabled, turn those features off for the test.
  5. Return to the City Hall terminal and complete the drone presentation.
  6. Wait for the camera to switch back to V.
  7. If the game continues normally, create a manual save before restoring your preferred graphics settings.

Important: Lowering graphics has helped players get past this specific crash, but it is not a guaranteed fix. The exact cause of the problem has not been confirmed.

Match Your Problem to the Right Fix

Problem What to Try First
Crash immediately after drone disconnect Temporarily set graphics to Low
Crash when the game appears to autosave Retry from an earlier save using Low graphics
Black screen when connecting to the drone Restart and test reduced graphics settings
Repeated crash at the same objective Verify game files and retry
Crashes during other quests too Check for broader game, mod, or driver problems

If the crash happens only at City Hall, start with the graphics workaround rather than reinstalling Cyberpunk 2077.

Where the Welcome to Paradise City Hall Crash Happens

Welcome to Paradise takes V on a guided tour of Night City, with Richard Night providing commentary through a series of drone presentations.

The quest becomes available after completing The Heist and reaching Street Cred level 15.

One of the tour stops takes you to City Hall in The Glen, where you interact with a terminal to connect to a drone.

During the presentation, the drone shows the surrounding area while Richard Night continues his narration.

The problematic moment usually occurs when the presentation ends and the game attempts to return control to V.

Crash After Disconnecting From the Drone

The most recognizable symptoms include:

  • The drone presentation plays normally.
  • The game attempts to return control to V.
  • Cyberpunk 2077 freezes or closes to the desktop.
  • The crash may coincide with an autosave.
  • Reloading and repeating the sequence produces the same result.

If this matches your experience, the Low graphics workaround below should be your first test.

Black Screen When Connecting to the Drone

A different problem can occur before the presentation starts.

Instead of seeing the drone's camera view, the screen goes black immediately after connecting.

This is separate from a crash that happens when the drone disconnects.

If your screen goes black before the tour begins, use the dedicated black-screen troubleshooting section further down.

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Fix 1: Lower Graphics Before Disconnecting From the Drone

Temporarily switching to the Low graphics preset is the first workaround to try for the City Hall drone disconnect crash.

The goal is to reduce graphics demands while Cyberpunk 2077 switches from the drone's camera back to normal gameplay.

Step 1: Load a Save Before the City Hall Tour

Open the Load Game menu and select a save from before interacting with the City Hall terminal.

If you have a suitable manual save, use that instead of relying on an autosave created around the crash.

Avoid overwriting your only working save.

Step 2: Change the Graphics Preset to Low

  1. Pause the game.
  2. Open Settings.
  3. Select Graphics.
  4. Find the graphics preset option.
  5. Change the preset to Low.
  6. Apply the changes.

If ray tracing or frame generation remains enabled, temporarily disable those features for this test.

You do not need to permanently sacrifice image quality. These changes are intended to help you pass one problematic quest transition.

Step 3: Complete the City Hall Drone Presentation

Return to the terminal and connect to the drone.

Allow Richard Night's presentation to finish, then disconnect when the game prompts you.

Watch for the moment the camera switches back to V.

If the transition succeeds and you can move normally, continue until the quest objective updates.

Step 4: Save Before Restoring Your Graphics

Once you have safely returned to V:

  1. Move away from the terminal if the quest allows it.
  2. Create a new manual save.
  3. Open Graphics settings again.
  4. Restore your preferred preset.
  5. Continue playing.

Keeping a separate save after passing the crash point means you can return to the successful state if the problem reappears.

Why Might Lower Graphics Help?

The crash occurs during a transition between two different camera perspectives.

Reducing graphics demands may help the game complete that transition without failing.

However, the exact technical cause has not been confirmed. There is no established evidence that one particular setting, such as ray tracing, shadows, or crowd density, is solely responsible.

For that reason, start with the full Low preset rather than spending time changing individual settings.

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Additional Test: Finish the Drone Tour Without Skipping

If lowering graphics does not immediately solve the crash, retry the City Hall presentation without rapidly skipping dialogue.

Use this sequence:

  1. Reload the save from before connecting to the drone.
  2. Keep the Low graphics preset enabled.
  3. Activate the City Hall terminal.
  4. Let the presentation and narration proceed normally.
  5. Avoid repeatedly pressing interaction buttons during camera transitions.
  6. Disconnect only when the game allows it.

This is a troubleshooting precaution, not a confirmed fix.

There is no established evidence that skipping dialogue causes the City Hall crash. However, allowing the sequence to finish normally can help rule out problems associated with interrupted interactions.

If the game still crashes at exactly the same moment, move on to file verification.

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Fix 2: Verify Game Files and Reload an Earlier Save

Corrupted or missing game files can cause crashes during scripted sequences.

File verification is worth trying if the problem began after installing a game update or if the Low graphics workaround did not help.

Verify Cyberpunk 2077 on Steam

  1. Close Cyberpunk 2077.
  2. Open your Steam Library.
  3. Right-click Cyberpunk 2077.
  4. Select Properties.
  5. Open Installed Files.
  6. Click Verify integrity of game files.
  7. Wait for Steam to finish checking and repairing files.
  8. Restart the game afterward and retry the City Hall tour.

Verify Files on GOG Galaxy

  1. Open GOG Galaxy.
  2. Select Cyberpunk 2077.
  3. Open the game's management options.
  4. Choose Manage Installation → Verify / Repair.
  5. Wait for the process to finish.

Verify Files on Epic Games

  1. Open the Epic Games Launcher.
  2. Go to your Library.
  3. Find Cyberpunk 2077.
  4. Open the game's options menu.
  5. Select Manage → Verify.

Retry From an Earlier Manual Save

If the game still crashes, try a save created before you entered the immediate City Hall interaction.

A save from before activating the drone may be more useful than one created during the problematic transition.

You do not need to delete your autosaves or restart the entire playthrough.

Important: File verification may repair damaged game files, but it is not a guaranteed solution for a quest-specific crash.

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Welcome to Paradise Drone Black Screen Before the Tour Starts

If the screen turns black as soon as you connect to the drone, you are dealing with a different symptom from the crash that happens after the tour ends.

Start with a game restart and reduced graphics settings before investigating broader display problems.

Try These Steps

  1. Restart Cyberpunk 2077.
  2. Reload a save from before connecting to the drone.
  3. Temporarily select the Low graphics preset.
  4. Disable optional ray tracing and frame generation for testing.
  5. Retry the drone connection.
  6. If the problem persists, verify your game files.

These are diagnostic steps, not confirmed fixes for the drone-sync black screen.

Check Whether HDR Is Involved

If you also experience black screens during normal gameplay, menu transitions, or other camera changes, investigate your display configuration.

HDR, Windows display settings, and GPU driver settings can contribute to some broader black-screen problems.

For additional troubleshooting, see our Cyberpunk 2077 2.5 HDR Black Screen Fix — AMD Radeon & Windows.

That guide covers display-related issues and is most useful when the problem extends beyond the City Hall drone interaction.

Do not assume HDR is the cause if the black screen happens only during this quest.

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What to Do If Welcome to Paradise Still Crashes at City Hall

If the game continues crashing after lowering graphics, verifying files, and retrying from an earlier save, check whether the problem is limited to this quest.

1. Test Another Save

Load a save outside the City Hall sequence.

Move around, enter another area, and check whether the game remains stable.

If Cyberpunk 2077 works normally everywhere else, the issue may be tied to the City Hall sequence or your current quest state.

If crashes occur in multiple locations, investigate broader game stability.

2. Check Your Mods

If you use RED4ext, Cyber Engine Tweaks, redscript, or other gameplay modifications, check whether every required framework and plugin is compatible with your installed game version.

Outdated mods can introduce crashes, including during scripted quest interactions.

However, the City Hall crash is not necessarily caused by mods. It can also affect players using an unmodded installation.

Avoid saving over your main modded playthrough while essential mods are disabled.

For a broader troubleshooting process, read our Cyberpunk 2077 2.5 Crashing or Won't Launch? RED4ext & No-Mod Fixes.

3. Check for Other Welcome to Paradise Bugs

Not every Welcome to Paradise progression problem involves the City Hall drone.

Some players can complete the tour but become stuck during later interactions involving Aera.

If your game does not crash and the problem instead involves a missing conversation, an unresponsive character, or a quest that refuses to progress, see our Cyberpunk 2077 Welcome to Paradise Stuck? Aera Bug Fix.

That is a different issue from the drone disconnect crash.

4. Contact CD Projekt Red Support

If nothing works, preserve a save from immediately before the City Hall interaction.

On Windows, Cyberpunk 2077 saves are normally located in:

%USERPROFILE%\Saved Games\CD Projekt Red\Cyberpunk 2077

You can also open Windows Reliability Monitor to check whether the crash generated a useful application error.

When contacting support, include:

  • Your game version and platform.
  • Whether you use mods.
  • Your GPU model and driver version.
  • The exact point where the crash happens.
  • Whether Low graphics or file verification changed the result.
  • An affected save file, if requested.

Use the official CD Projekt Red Cyberpunk 2077 PC Support page to submit the issue.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Welcome to Paradise crash at City Hall?
The crash can occur when the game transitions from the City Hall drone presentation back to V. The exact cause is not confirmed, although temporarily lowering graphics settings has helped some players complete the sequence.

How do I fix the City Hall drone disconnect crash?
Load a save from before the drone interaction, change your graphics preset to Low, complete the presentation, and wait for control to return to V. Save your progress before restoring your usual graphics settings.

Does lowering graphics fix the Welcome to Paradise crash?
It can help. The Low graphics preset is one of the most promising workarounds for this specific crash, but it does not work for everyone.

Is the autosave causing Cyberpunk 2077 to crash?
Some crashes occur around the time the game appears to autosave, but this does not prove that autosaving itself is responsible. Avoid deleting saves or disabling autosave without a clear reason.

Why does the screen go black when I connect to the drone?
A black screen during drone synchronization is a separate symptom from crashing after the tour. Restart the game, reload an earlier save, test reduced graphics settings, and verify game files if necessary.

Can I finish Welcome to Paradise without restarting the quest?
Possibly. If you have a save from before the City Hall drone interaction, you can retry that section using different graphics settings. You may not need to restart the entire quest.

Is the City Hall drone crash caused by RED4ext or other mods?
Not necessarily. The issue can occur without mods. If you use modifications, checking compatibility is still worthwhile, especially after a major game update.

Has CD Projekt Red fixed the Welcome to Paradise City Hall crash?
There is no confirmed City Hall-specific fix to rely on here. Until a verified fix is available, try the graphics workaround, file verification, and earlier-save recovery steps described above.

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Final Tips

If Welcome to Paradise crashes when the City Hall drone disconnects, start with the Low graphics workaround and preserve a manual save before the interaction.

If you successfully pass the crash point, save again before restoring your preferred graphics settings.

If the problem continues, verify your game files and check whether Cyberpunk 2077 also crashes outside the quest. Keep your working saves intact while troubleshooting.

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