🏙️ Watson District
“Once the beating heart of Night City, today Watson is one of its poorest districts.”
The massive urban reconstruction zone where megabuildings rise from the ashes of the War. A district of contradictions: gleaming corporate security next to desperate poverty, Japanese heritage culture alongside industrial decay.
📍 Overview
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Zone Type | Rebuilding Urban Center |
| Threat Rating | Corporate (inner) / Moderate (outer) |
| Population | Dense and growing |
| Dominant Gangs | Tyger Claws, Maelstrom |
| Notable Areas | Kabuki, Little China, Northside Industrial, Arasaka Waterfront |
Watson is the heart of Night City’s reconstruction efforts. Giant megabuildings — self-contained arcologies with housing, shopping, and entertainment — were built to house the millions displaced by the War.
📜 History
Before the War
The northern parts of Night City housed those with comfortable incomes — nice apartments, decent jobs, safety. Then the 4th Corporate War came, and the comfortable fled.
The Night City Co-Prosperity Sphere
When the comfortable left, the displaced populations of Old Japantown and Little China moved in. A conglomerate of Japanese-based megacorps called the Night City Co-Prosperity Sphere flooded the area with money, renaming it Watson. The Sphere funded:
- The first megabuildings in Night City
- High-tech factories in the Northside
- Infrastructure for the displaced Asian communities
- Good jobs for residents
The Fall
The district boomed during the recovery… then Arasaka returned to Night City. The Co-Prosperity Sphere collapsed as its component companies scattered. Affluent citizens migrated to shinier districts like City Center and Westbrook. The factories closed. The money dried up.
From Heart to Slum
Watson went from the beating heart of recovery-era Night City to one of its poorest districts in a single generation.
🗺️ Sub-Districts
Arasaka Waterfront
To cement its influence on Night City, Arasaka seized the Watson waterfront. They kicked everyone out and built their own facilities.
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Security | Tightest in the city—“tighter than the FIA guards the White House” |
| Access | Arasaka employees only, to designated areas only |
| Purpose | Main Arasaka port in the Western Hemisphere |
| Notable | Konpeki Plaza — Night City’s most exclusive hotel |
Kabuki
When residents of Old Japantown moved north, they settled here under Co-Prosperity Sphere patronage. When the Sphere crumbled, the Japanese residents left. The Chinese diaspora moved in.
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Character | Bazaar almost as illicit as Dogtown |
| Trade | ”If you know the right people, you can buy anything except safety” |
| Control | Tyger Claws dominant |
See Kabuki for full details.
Little China
The planned heart of Watson. The first megabuildings in Night City went up here—numbered high but built first because Co-Prosperity Sphere money jumped the queue.
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Character | Mixture of classes—condominiums next to brothels |
| Draw | Neon, food, shops attract bored corpos seeking thrills |
| Demographics | Chinese immigrants transformed it after the original Little China became a Combat Zone |
Northside Industrial District
The Co-Prosperity Sphere built high-tech factories here, providing residents with good jobs. Now most are abandoned.
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Status | Ghost factories, gang hideouts, warehouses |
| Control | Maelstrom territory |
| Activity | Drug dealing, smuggling, black market tech |
🏢 Key Locations
Megabuildings
The massive residential towers built to house the displaced. Self-contained mini-arcologies: housing, shopping, entertainment, all in one building.
| Building | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Megabuildings H10-H15 | Little China | First built (high numbers, early construction) |
| Various others | Throughout | Some still under construction |
Arasaka Waterfront Locations
| Location | Description |
|---|---|
| Konpeki Plaza | Night City’s most exclusive hotel—every inch devoted to luxury |
| Arasaka Port Facilities | Off-limits to non-Arasaka personnel |
Kabuki Locations
| Location | Description |
|---|---|
| Ho-Oh | Casino and nightclub, Tyger Claw run—crime upstairs |
| Kabuki Roundabout | Central plaza and marketplace, “high-end brands at low prices” |
| Lizzie’s Bar | Braindance club, Mox territory—named for murdered founder |
| No-Tell Motel | Automated hotel for clandestine meetings |
Little China Locations
| Location | Description |
|---|---|
| The Afterlife | Night City’s most famous edgerunner bar, run by Rogue |
| Deravaja Dojo | Tyger Claw martial arts studio—few non-gang students |
| Night City Medical Center | Hospital complex with own transit station—Trauma Team operated |
| Riot | Nightclub with big-name entertainers (Lizzy Wizzy, Cartesian Duelists) |
| Tom’s Diner | Retro pre-Collapse themed restaurant chain |
| Urmland Street | Shopping district—fashion, cyberware, tarot readers |
Northside Industrial Locations
| Location | Description |
|---|---|
| All Foods Factory | Former protein slurry manufacturer—now main Maelstrom hideout |
| Totentanz | ”Drink and riot” club, deafening rock—Maelstrom authority zone |
Services
| Service | Location | Operator |
|---|---|---|
| Trauma Team Tower | Watson Wharf | Trauma Team |
| Petrochem Offices | Watson Business Center | Petrochem |
| SovOil Offices | Watson Business Center | SovOil |
| Precinct #3 | Central Watson | NCPD (large, well-armed, paranoid) |
🔫 Gang Situation
Dominant Gangs
| Gang | Territory | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| Tyger Claws | Kabuki, Little China, Asian areas | Protection, smuggling, gambling, joytoy exploitation |
| Maelstrom | Northside Industrial | Smuggling, black market tech, drug dealing |
The Mox
A smaller gang formed after the Tyger Claws murdered Lizzie Borden. They protect joytoys and sex workers, operating from Lizzie’s Bar.
Turf Wars
- Tyger Claws vs Maelstrom — Constant low-level conflict over industrial areas
- Maelstrom reach — Extends south into Kabuki despite Tyger Claw claims
- Quiet zones — Corporate areas well-patrolled, relatively safe
🛡️ Security
| Area | Security Level | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Arasaka Waterfront | Maximum | Arasaka corporate security |
| Konpeki Plaza | Very High | Elite hotel security |
| Petrochem/SovOil offices | Very High | Armed guards, drones |
| Precinct #3 | High | NCPD—veteran officers, Militech gear |
| Megabuildings | Moderate | Building security |
| Kabuki streets | Low | Tyger Claws “protection” |
| Northside Industrial | Dangerous | Maelstrom controlled |
🌆 Atmosphere
Day
- Construction noise (less than before—most megabuildings finished)
- Workers moving between jobs
- Street food vendors everywhere
- Corporate suits in Arasaka areas
- Markets bustling in Kabuki
- NCART crowds
Night
- Neon signs flicker on—kanji and English mixing
- Night markets open (Kabuki Roundabout comes alive)
- Gang activity increases
- Kabuki’s entertainment district draws crowds
- Northside goes dark and dangerous
- Dangerous in less-patrolled areas
😄 What You See
🎲 GM Resources
Notable NPCs
| NPC | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rogue | Fixer | Runs The Afterlife, former Solo legend, Queen of the Fixers |
| Dr. Wu Chii Lee | Medtech | Healer, priest, fortune-teller, herbalist—finger on pulse of Asian communities |
| Lucius Rhyne | Rockerboy | Community organizer, rare idealist working to make Watson better |
🔗 Related Topics
- Kabuki — Asian quarter (detailed page)
- Little China — Commercial heart
- Tyger Claws — Dominant gang
- Maelstrom — Rival gang in Northside
- The Mox — Protectors of sex workers
- The Afterlife — Legendary bar
- Arasaka — Controls the waterfront
(Source: Cyberpunk RED Core Rulebook, pp. 296-297, 310-312; Cyberpunk Edgerunners Mission Kit)