Let me tell you about the time I, a lowly merc, got tangled in the web of the most morally ambiguous character in all of Night City: Regina Jones. Back in 2026, as I navigated the grimy streets of Watson, Regina seemed like a beacon of hope—an ex-media with a heart, offering eddies for taking down cyberpsychos without killing them. She painted herself as a savior, working with some mysterious group that could actually cure cyberpsychosis. But let me be real with you, chooms—nothing in Night City is that simple. The deeper I dug, the more I started to suspect that Regina’s halo was made of the same cheap chrome as a back-alley ripperdoc’s implants. Was she a genuine humanitarian, or was she just a slick recruiter for the most terrifying force in the city?
The Sinister Theory: A MaxTac Recruitment Pipeline?
Oh, the evidence is damning, I tell you! It started with whispers in the Afterlife and solidified when I saw Melissa Rory in the flesh. Remember her? That's right, the cyberpsycho from the old 2013 trailer who went on a rampage. In 2026, I ran into her again during the "Bullets" mission, but this time she was decked out in full MaxTac gear, spouting violent, unhinged nonsense. That’s when the pieces clicked. MaxTac, the NCPD's elite psycho squad, doesn't just fight cyberpsychos—they recruit them! Their ranks are rumored to be stuffed full of "rehabilitated" psychos, given free rein to unleash their violent impulses on Night City's undesirables. And how do they get these fresh, unstable recruits? Enter Regina Jones.
The theory, popularized by netrunners like Redditor Insanus_Vitae, is brilliantly cynical: Regina is MaxTac's off-the-books talent scout. She hires mercs like me to non-lethally bag cyberpsychos across the city. We get our eddies, she gets her "patients," and MaxTac gets a shiny new batch of unstable, hyper-violent soldiers. Think about it! Why is Regina so vague about where she sends these people she claims to be helping? Nobody else in the entire city mentions a cure for cyberpsychosis. Not a single ripperdoc, not a corp, no one. It's a medical impossibility... unless the "cure" is just a new uniform and a license to kill.
Even her timing is suspicious. Regina always knows about a psycho outbreak before the authorities do. Every. Single. Time. Is she just that good of a media with her ear to the ground, or is she getting tipped off by her handlers in MaxTac, telling her where to send her hired gun next? The whole operation stinks worse than a landfill in Pacifica.
The Counter-Argument: A Media With a Conscience?
Now, hold on. Before you write her off completely, let's look at the other side of the coin. The Regina I met often seemed like one of the few fixers in Night City with a shred of decency.
She rewards non-violent solutions in other gigs. Her backstory as a media who exposed corrupt corps checks out. In one memorable cyberpsycho case, she actually called off the gig because MaxTac was too close, fearing they'd just execute the target. If she was working for them, why would she care? This suggests MaxTac sometimes does their own recruiting, like they did with Melissa Rory, and doesn't always need a middleman.
Her knowledge can also be explained by her old job. As a top-tier media, her network of contacts—snitches, scanners, netrunners—would be immense. It's completely plausible she has sources feeding her info about emerging psychos faster than the sluggish NCPD can respond.
My Verdict: A Complicated Truth in a City of Lies
After all my runs through Night City's underworld, I've come to a conclusion. Regina Jones is probably NOT a direct agent of MaxTac. The theory is deliciously dark and fits the game's themes of exploitation perfectly, but it doesn't fully align with her character moments or MaxTac's brute-force M.O.
However—and this is a big however—she is absolutely hiding something. The whole cyberpsycho questline feels sketchy. Her old partner, Max, suspects her of shady dealings. Her secret fear seems tied to an unfinished conflict with a powerful Chinese corporation, which is likely the real dark chapter in her past.
Even if Regina is clean, the undeniable, horrifying truth remains: MaxTac is a legion of former cyberpsychos. That's the real conspiracy. The city's supposed protectors are its former monsters, barely kept in check. Regina's mission, whether she's a pawn or a true idealist, exists in the shadow of this grotesque system.
| Evidence FOR the Theory | Evidence AGAINST the Theory |
|---|---|
| MaxTac is known to employ cyberpsychos (Melissa Rory). | Regina shows genuine concern and calls off ops if MaxTac is near. |
| Regina is secretive about the "treatment" and destination of psychos. | Her media background explains her extensive information network. |
| She has near-instant intel on psycho sightings, beating the NCPD. | MaxTac is shown to capture psychos on their own (e.g., Melissa Rory). |
| Thematic fit with Night City's exploitation. | Her characterization consistently emphasizes mercy and non-violence. |
So, what's the bottom line? In 2026's Night City, there are no pure heroes. Regina might believe she's helping, but she's operating in a system so corrupt it turns victims into weapons. Her questline is a masterclass in moral ambiguity. Whether she's a misguided saint or a useful idiot, the result is the same: the cycle of violence continues, now with official sanction. And that, my friends, is the most cyberpunk truth of all. 😈
