Cyberpunk 2077 Is Removing Gender Options
Recently, CD Projekt Red revealed that it would be removing the gender option from Cyberpunk 2077. For those who are curious, this means that when a player is creating their character, they won’t have to choose between male and female. Instead, they can assume that their character is whatever gender they would like their character to be while also choosing whichever body type as well as whichever voice option is best-suited for their assumption. On the whole, it is a very interesting choice on CD Projekt Red’s part that will mean very little to most people but will have an important impact on the purchasing choices of a small but nonetheless significant number of others.
What Does This Mean That Cyberpunk 2077 Is Removing Gender Options?
Considering CD Projekt Red’s high profile status, it was inevitable that its reveal would kick off another round in the culture wars. Something that is particularly unsurprising because of the recent kerfuffle over whether a particular piece of art shown in the E3 presentation for Cyberpunk 2077 was reflective of fetishistic trans-phobia or not when it was supposed to be an in-setting example of the uncaring commercialization carried out by over-powerful corporations.
Regardless, the current issue is that some people see this reveal as an example of CD Projekt Red being “politically correct,” which in their perception, makes it automatically a bad thing that must be rejected. However, there are a couple of points that should be considered here.
One, “politically correct” is pretty much meaningless, thus making it useless for productive conversation. Once upon a time, it was a useful descriptor for people who adhered very closely to the orthodox positions of whatever political factions that they associated themselves with. However, that hasn’t been the case since the 1980s and the 1990s, which was when it started being used as a pejorative either all or almost all of the time. As a result, “politically correct” can now encompass everything from the excessive to what most people would call basic empathy for other human beings with no nuance whatsoever because it has been reduced to nothing but a way to designate something to be attacked.
Two, the change is pretty much 100 percent positive. For people with no real interest in the matter whatsoever, the sole change is that they will now have to choose both the body type and the voice option that they want when making their character. There might be some individuals out there who are petty enough to find this to be a deal-breaker, but by any reasonable standard, it is an inconvenience so minor that it is inconsequential. In contrast, it seems safe to say that this change does mean a great deal to people who do care about this particular issue, thus making it a very nice gesture on CD Projekt Red’s part that doesn’t ruin anyone else’s experience. If anything, one could make an argument that it enhances their experience as well, seeing as how increased control over the character creation process tends to be regarded as a good thing.
Do you agree that Cyberpunk 2077 is right in removing gender options?
