When Did Arasaka Return to Night City? June 2070

Arasaka returned to Night City in 2070. During the Unification War it backed the city against the New United States, and when the war ended in June 2070, Lucius Rhyne, the councilman who had called it in and was then elected mayor, welcomed it back and let it rebuild its American headquarters in the new Corpo Plaza. It had been thrown out of the country after the nuke of 2023. (Cyberpunk Wiki, Timeline; Cyberpunk Wiki, Arasaka)

Why was Arasaka banned from the US?#

Because of the bomb. On 20 August 2023 a nuclear device went off in the Arasaka Towers in Night City, and the Timeline page counts more than half a million killed at once. President Elizabeth Kress blamed Arasaka. The wiki's history of the company says the fault actually lay with a Militech operative team, but that Kress used the blame for her own interests. Cyberpunk 2077 tells it differently, with Johnny Silverhand arming the bomb himself. (Cyberpunk Wiki, Timeline; Cyberpunk Wiki, Arasaka; Cyberpunk 2077)

The punishment came fast. Arasaka's charters to operate in the United States were revoked, its people and board branded terrorists, and its assets seized or moved offshore. The Timeline lists its forces being expelled from the continental US, and says the Japanese government nearly collapsed and survived by pinning all the blame on Arasaka. Arasaka had to confine its operations to Japan while it rebuilt its reputation. (Cyberpunk Wiki, Arasaka; Cyberpunk Wiki, Timeline)

The wiki also says an inquiry led by General Lundee found Arasaka guilty of detonating the bomb, though the findings have been questioned repeatedly. (Cyberpunk Wiki, Arasaka)

What did Arasaka do in the years in between?#

It shrank, but it didn't die. The wiki says Arasaka still had one of the biggest corporate armies anywhere and held on to most of its assets. By 2040 it had rebuilt itself and was slowly gaining strength, trying to patch things up with the NUSA. It still had small operations in parts of the country, nothing official, and covertly licensed its troops to other firms, though the troops had to wear their new employers' uniforms. (Cyberpunk Wiki, Arasaka)

Its goal hadn't changed: it wanted to return to the heights it held in the 2020s. (Cyberpunk Wiki, Arasaka)

How did Arasaka get back into Night City?#

Through the Unification War of 2069 to 2070, when the NUSA tried to bring the Free States back under federal rule. The wiki says Arasaka supported Night City in the war. In June 2070, the Timeline says, Arasaka arrived to break the siege of the city, called in by Councilman Lucius Rhyne. President Rosalind Myers, unwilling to draw Arasaka into the war, signed the Treaty of Unification to end it. (Cyberpunk Wiki, Arasaka; Cyberpunk Wiki, Timeline)

Night City became an independent city-state and Rhyne was elected mayor. As thanks, he welcomed Arasaka back, with a seat on the Night City Council and permission to rebuild its American headquarters in the new Corpo Plaza. (Cyberpunk Wiki, Timeline)

The wiki's history of the company says it started with the Arasaka Waterfront, though it flags that line as needing a citation. It pushed out its competition there and tore down the decaying old Watson complex, and put container warehouses, hangars and autonomous assembly lines in its place. (Cyberpunk Wiki, Arasaka)

When was Arasaka Tower rebuilt?#

After 2070, and the wiki gives no completion date. Its page on the 2077 tower says Arasaka was welcomed back to North America and got permission to build a new office centre. It picked the site of the former Arasaka Towers, cleared the ruins and started building. (Cyberpunk Wiki, Arasaka Tower (2077))

The same page says the finished tower is 620 metres tall with 140 floors, the tallest building in Night City, and is the North American branch headquarters. It also mentions the tower's Arasaka Academy being named the best secondary school in the city by a 2074 media ranking. In 2076, David Martinez reaches the top of the tower in Edgerunners, and in 2077 Yorinobu Arasaka works from its upper floors. (Cyberpunk Wiki, Arasaka Tower (2077))

The comeback in order#

1. 20 August 2023. The nuke destroys the Arasaka Towers. (Cyberpunk Wiki, Timeline)
2. After 2023. Charters revoked, assets seized, forces expelled from the continental US. (Cyberpunk Wiki, Arasaka; Cyberpunk Wiki, Timeline)
3. By 2040. Rebuilt and regaining strength, with small unofficial operations in the NUSA. (Cyberpunk Wiki, Arasaka)
4. 2069 to 2070. Arasaka backs Night City in the Unification War. (Cyberpunk Wiki, Arasaka)
5. June 2070. Arrives to break the siege at Rhyne's request and is welcomed back. (Cyberpunk Wiki, Timeline)
6. 2070 onward. The Waterfront and a new tower on the old site. (Cyberpunk Wiki, Arasaka; Cyberpunk Wiki, Arasaka Tower (2077))

My read#

Look at who benefits. Kress needed someone to blame in 2023, and Arasaka took the hit. By 2070, Night City needed a protector the NUSA wouldn't touch, and Arasaka was the only one who could be called. Rhyne gave the corporation a way back in and the corporation never really left. I'd say it paid for its return with Night City's independence, which is how the city ends up in the shape Cyberpunk 2077 finds it.

Canon Notes#

Where to go next#

For the company's full history, read the Arasaka profile. For the 2023 blast, see Arasaka Tower 2023, and for the whole sweep, the Cyberpunk timeline.