Cyberpunk 2077 mod axed for turning Keanu Reeves' likeness into a sex bot
The studio doesn't want mods to harm or misrepresent anyone's likeness
One of the Cyberpunk 2077 mods that let players add characters like Johnny Silverhand to the game's Joytoy sex scenes has been axed by CD Projekt Red.
As PC Gamer reports, Nexus modder Camtino shared a simple model swap tool for Cyberpunk 2077 earlier this month. The mod essentially let you swap one character model for another, but this being the ever-horny internet, players immediately started turning the Joytoy sex workers in the game's mature scenes into other characters, most notably Johnny Silverhand.
Even if the end result is janky as hell, this is basically the same thing as jerry-rigging a virtual Keanu Reeves sex scene given how closely Johnny the character resembles the actor. This went over the line for what CD Projekt Red considers appropriate for modding, as the publisher explained in a statement to PC Gamer:
"Our most important rule regarding user-generated content, game mods in particular, is that it can't be harmful towards others. In the case of model swaps, especially those that involve explicit situations, it can be perceived as such by the people who lent us their appearance for the purpose of creating characters in Cyberpunk 2077.
"Therefore, when making fan content, creators have to make sure they’ve got permission from all the concerned parties (which might be people other than CD PROJEKT RED)," the studio adds. "For the characters we've invented for the game, we broadly permit you to tweak the game at will and just have fun. When it comes to models of real people whom we've asked to participate in the game, we kindly ask you to refrain from using them in any situation that might be found offensive if you don’t have their explicit permission."
Camtino's creation has been pulled from Nexus Mods – with the simple message, "clearing things out with CDPR" – and if others want to use mods to create spicy scenarios using characters portrayed by the likes of Keanu Reeves, Hideo Kojima, or any of the other celebrities in Cyberpunk 2077, you'll have to get their permission first. I reckon that would be a pretty difficult conversation even if you could get a hold of them. Hello Mr. Reeves, would you mind if I put your face on a sex bot?
Sex mods aside, CD Projekt Red supports Cyberpunk 2077 modding in general, and just released official modding resources.
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Austin freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree, and he's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize that his position as a senior writer is just a cover up for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a focus on news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.
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