Keanu Reeves Says Games Don't Need to Be Legitimized

It's hard not to have heard that Keanu Reeves will be taking on a role in Cyberpunk 2077 if you paid attention to E3 or are even remotely interested in the game. Celebrities having their likenesses used in games is becoming a more common occurrence as of late, but when it comes to "legitimizing" games, Reeves says that the medium doesn't need these celebrity endorsements and appearances to help with that. In fact, he said he doesn't think that games need legitimizing at all and that games and the movie industry have been bouncing off one another for a while now.

BBC Newsbeat spoke to Reeves about his part in Cyperpunk 2077 after the actor made his grand gaming appearance in the trailer above and on-stage at E3. The crowd went nuts over Reeves' appearance in the game and was reignited once he took the stage, a reaction which he apparently wasn't fully prepared for. Reeves was asked by BBC Newsbeat whether appearances like these help legitimize the medium when high-profile actors get involved. Reeves paused and was met with another question asking if games even need legitimizing, to which he said that he doesn't think they do.

"I mean, I would go with that thread," Reeves said. "Yeah, I don't think they need legitimizing."

Reeves continued to propose the opposite by saying games had actually had an impact on the movie industry.

"If anything I'd say it's gone the other way," he continued. "It's more of the influence gaming's had on … let's call it Hollywood. Certainly with the Marvel Universe, right? But then gaming probably started in the beginning with Hollywood. I think these technologies have been talking to each other."

Whether you agree with Reeves or not about games needing legitimizing or if they're already there, you'll be hearing from him a lot more in Cyberpunk 2077 when the game releases on April 16, 2020. As one might expect from a studio that took the effort to rope in Reeves, he'll play a key role in the game's story and even plays the character with the second most dialogue. People were no doubt already hugely interested in Cyberpunk 2077, though one would have to think Reeves' character played a major part in making Cyberpunk 2077's latest trailer the one most people were interested in watching.

Cyberpunk 2077 is scheduled to release for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC platforms on April 16, 2020.