CD Projekt RED Said Cyberpunk 2077 Will Allow Transgender and Non-Binary Characters

While, for the most part, it seemed as though E3 2019 created a lot of excitement around Cyberpunk 2077, some major controversy has been building up around the game. The discovery of an in-game advertisement has set the internet ablaze, thanks to what many are calling an offensive depiction of a transgender woman. That, and the use of “mix it up” as the advert’s slogan led many to question whether Cyberpunk 2077 will respectfully depict trans and queer issues overall. While that question hasn’t been completely answered, apparently Cyberpunk 2077 will allow players to have their characters be transgender and non-binary, if they so choose.

This was announced by quest designer Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz in an interview with Gamasutra. According to Tomaszkiewicz, one of the goals of the Cyberpunk 2077’s character creator is “to give the players as many options of customization in the beginning of the game as we can.” More specifically, CD Projekt RED appears to want players to reflect their real selves as best as they can. To do so, the character creator will apparently be filled with a variety of options, and different attributes will be separate from one another. As such, players will also be able to have a non-binary character.

You’ll apparently be able to make your character’s body type separate from your facial structure, which is also separate from their voice. While full freedom of customization appears to be a major goal for CD Projekt RED, it’s also apparently “not as easy as it sounds.”

It should be noted that we haven’t seen the entirety of Cyberpunk 2077’s character creator in action. As such, it’s really impossible to tell how in-depth it will be until its release. CD Projekt RED is still working on the system, so hopefully Tomaszkiewicz’s words don’t just become empty promises.

As very few games, and no AAA games, allow you to play as a transgender or non-binary character, Tomaszkiewicz’s statements could be taken as promising ones. However, taking into account this most recent controversy does make it a little difficult to accept. With the controversy surrounding this advertisement reaching the level it did, Cyberpunk 2077 artist Kasia Redesiuk addressed the issue, calling it a commentary on hypersexuality in advertisements.

Until it releases, however, we’ll only have pre-release materials to base Cyberpunk 2077 on. We’ll see for sure if the character creator offers as much freedom as promised when it releases on April 16, 2020 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

[Source: Gamasutra]