‘Cyberpunk 2077’ Will Have Gender Fluid Character Creator, Studio Co-Founder Says

Developed by “The Witcher 3” creator CD Projekt Red, “Cyberpunk 2077” was one of the most highly anticipated games during E3 2019. However, it is also proving to be one of the most controversial.

A rather recent conversation online, spurred by the appearance of a heavily sexualized transgender model on one of the ads in the world in-game, questioned CD Projekt Red’s sensitivity in dealing with trans issues.

Between the poster, a tweet of a joke that offended people, and a conversation about the presence of gender fluidity in the game, the issue looks like it won’t be going away anytime soon

However, Marcin Iwinski, the co-founder of CD Projekt Red, told Newsweek that they have heard all the criticisms and announced that gender fluidity will be a part of the “Cyberpunk 2077” character creator. He further explained that the binary male/female choice on display during E3 2019 is not representative of the final product, much like other aspects of the demo.

“This is not final and actually we’ll enable that,” Iwinski replied when asked whether or not there would be gender fluidity in the game. “There will be full fluidity and on top of that you’ll be able to choose the male or female voice. Whatever you please.”

This move, however, has sparked disagreements among fans online with many speculating whether CD Projekt Red really needs to even address these issues. However, transhumanism is considered to be a major theme within the cyberpunk genre and to omit it from a game called “Cyberpunk 2077” would be a disservice to the creators of the genre.

“Dealing with it via character creator is messy if that’s the main conceit,” Danny Lore, a science fiction editor told Newsweek. “A world with true gender fluidity is more than just what a character looks like.”

Lore further explained that an ideal character creator wouldn’t include the gendered templates, male and female, for characters and would instead allow players to sculpt the body however they so pleased. Beyond that, Lore also demanded that it should allow players to choose their preferred pronouns and that the game should place them in a world that reacts to their choice.

Iwinski has since said that CD Projekt Red is not afraid of criticism like this and that they value the feedback from fans whether it be positive or negative. However, he hopes that players are willing to experience the story for themselves before dismissing the game completely or putting labels on it, and its creators.

"People draw conclusions after one tweet, one article, anything out there," he said. "For our games, experience them. Give them a go. Then you can express your opinion, not base your opinion on a few tiny little details. It is a huge living, breathing world and there are a lot of reasons for the things that are in there, and the things that are not in there."

"I'm not asking a big budget game like that to even be about me and my community. I just want to stop seeing a warped, hurtful version of us," Lore said.

Despite the criticisms, Iwinski is confident that CD Projekt Red will find an audience if they stay true to its story. He is aware though that he might find a divided one

"We will be very honest. And I think in telling the story the way you want to tell it gamers will judge if they like it or not," he said. "Ethical perspective or gameplay perspective, I think there will be a lot of opinions for sure."

“Cyberpunk 2077” comes out on April 16, 2020 for the PS4, PC, and Xbox One.