The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) has officially revealed that Cyberpunk 2077, the upcoming video game from developer CD Projekt Red, is officially rated “M” for Mature. The ESRB, if you’re somehow not familiar, basically rates that content for upcoming video games so that folks know what they’re getting into when they play in the same way that movies get ratings like PG or R. Given what we’ve seen and heard about the game thus far, that “M” rating isn’t exactly surprising, but the full rundown on why it earned that rating is truly something to behold.
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According to the ESRB rating, players can select a gender and customize them to the point of how their “breasts, buttocks, and genitalia, as well as various sizes and combinations of genitals” look. There are drugs, prostitution, extreme violence, and strong language. In other words, it sounds exactly like everything Cyberpunk 2077 has shown itself to be thus far.
Here’s the full rating summary from the ESRB, because it genuinely deserves to be read in its entirety:
“This is a first-person RPG/shooter in which players assume the role of a mercenary named V trying to make their way through the open-world of Night City. Players can explore futuristic locations, interact with citizens, perform missions, and engage in combat to complete various objectives within a storyline. Characters use handguns, machine guns, rifles, and explosives during frenetic firefights with humans and cybernetically enhanced enemies; players can also use melee weapons (e.g., wrist-mounted blades, enhanced limbs) to stab enemies and, in some cases, dismember them. Combat is frenetic, with frequent gunfire, cries of pain, explosions, and blood-splatter effects. Some locations depict mutilated corpses with open chest cavities and/or exposed organs/entrails. During one quest, players assist a character by hammering nails through his hands and feet; screaming sounds and blood effects accompany the scene. The game contains nudity and sexual material: Players can select a gender and customize their character; customization can include depictions of breasts, buttocks, and genitalia, as well as various sizes and combinations of genitals. Players can encounter events where they have the option to engage in sexual activities with other main characters or prostitutes—these brief sex scenes (from a first-person perspective) depict partially nude characters moaning suggestively while moving through various positions. Some scenes contain brief depictions of thrusting motions; other scenes depict a character’s head moving towards a partner’s crotch. The game contains frequent depictions and references to fictional drugs, including characters taking puffs/hits from a state-altering inhaler/stimulant; an animated billboard ad depicts a man snorting speed. Some sequences allow the player to drink alcoholic beverages repeatedly until the screen distorts; player’s character can also drive cars while drunk. The words ‘f**k’ and ‘c*nt’ appear in the dialogue.”
What do you think of what we’ve seen of CD Projekt Red‘s Cyberpunk 2077 so far? What do you make of the ESRB rating? Let us know in the comments, or hit me up directly on Twitter at @rollinbishop to talk all things gaming!
Cyberpunk 2077 is scheduled to release for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on September 17th. A “Night City Wire” event for the video game is set for June 11th. You can check out all of our previous coverage of the upcoming video game right here.
