Controversial 'Cyberpunk 2077' Joke Results in Boycott Threats and Apology

The official Cyberpunk 2077 Twitter account shared a tweet today that was met with a divided response from followers, who responded by dismissing it as a joke or calling for boycotts among other reactions.

In a response to one of Cyberpunk 2077's tweets about the start of Gamescom, a follower replied and used the word "guys" in the tweet. The Cyberpunk 2077 Twitter account responded with a now-deleted tweet that said, "Did you just assume their gender?!" The removal of the tweet happened after followers and others who'd heard talk of the Cyberpunk 2077 gender joke caught wind of what was going on and screenshotted the tweet to reshare it, just as one Twitter user did below.

According to @CyberpunkGame, the way to promote your new game Cyberpunk 2077 is to use derogatory transphobic memes that trivialise & mock transgender people. Strange because cyberpunk involves the deconstruction of identity norms, which should naturally include gender expression pic.twitter.com/2tDKMeLpoX

— MissFatPanda (@MissFatPanda) August 21, 2018

With the tweet being removed, the replies to it vanished as well, but the general responses that you'll find on Twitter now echo the sentiments that were shared when the controversial joke was first made. People condemned the joke as lazy and insensitive while criticizing the use of a "transphobic meme" as the user above mentioned.

But the joke goes beyond a simple tweet — according to many users who've commented on the situation — and has now affected their willingness to purchase the game when it's released. There's no release date set for Cyberpunk 2077, but it seems that many people who found the joke in poor taste have already decided that whenever it's released, they won't be among those purchasing it. Others defended the joke, and said that they were "happy to see that the team has a sense of humor" and said that it's all right to take an issue with the joke while still being excited for the game.

They deleted their tweet, but CDPR's Cyberpunk 2077 is dead to me because they couldn't help but do a "did you just assume my gender" joke.

Thanks for deciding that one for me, lads.

— Jessicat (@_Cr0wnless) August 21, 2018

They deleted it now, but the official Cyberpunk 2077 account made a "did you just assume my gender" "joke."

So uh yeah, that's another video game social media account run by transphobes. //t.co/Y2S3eyxSa0

— Heath (@TheAngryAce) August 21, 2018

any interest i had in cyberpunk 2077 has been lost when their twitter account made a "did you just assume my gender?" joke.

— » (@crywolf) August 21, 2018

In a follow-up tweet, the Cyberpunk 2077 shared another message, writing, "sorry to all those offended" and adding that there was never any intent on their part to hurt anyone.

Sorry to all those offended by one of the responses sent out from our account earlier. Harming anyone was never our intention.

— Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) August 21, 2018

Cyberpunk 2077 is currently in development and does not yet have a release date.