The Twitter account of Cyberpunk 2077 made a joke about excessive political correctness. That didn’t go well. They had to apologize.
What happened? At Gamescom, Cyberpunk 2077 posted a picture on Twitter: A person looks at their smartphone. The accompanying text reads, “Gamescom starts the way E3 ended – checking Twitter.”
A fan then responded, “I want more guys!”
The Twitter account of Cyberpunk 2077 wrote, “Did you just assume their gender?”
Did you just assume my gender?
What are people upset about? The phrase “Did you just assume my gender” is a meme used to ironically criticize excessive feminism.
It plays with the idea that transgender people dislike being prematurely assigned a gender.
Bee’s nest poked: The tweet in question has since been deleted. However, with this tweet, Cyberpunk 2077 sparked a discussion:
- Some readers found it rude and harsh. They wanted an apology for it.
- Others explicitly did not want CD Projekt Red to apologize for it. They believed those who were upset by the meme should also understand such a joke.
Cornered in a dilemma: At this point, one can see why the discussion is so difficult. At this point, one could really only lose. One of the two groups would get their way, and the other would not.
Tweet slipped out during Gamescom stress?
What happened? The Twitter account initially tried to de-escalate the situation. They did not want to be rude. They were sorry if it came across that way. It had been a very hectic and exhausting day for them.
We did not mean to be rude – apologies if it came across like this. So far it has been a very hectic and exhausting day for us.
— Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) August 21, 2018
Two and a half hours later, however, a formal decision was made. They apologized to everyone who felt attacked by the tweet.
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
One of the most well-known figures of the German internet broadcaster RocketBeans, Etienne Gardé, was among those who see it differently.
He writes on Twitter: “That was funny. Stop bending to an army of the politically correct that destroys every form of fun. It’s each individual’s choice whether they feel offended.”
it was funny. stop bowing before the pc army that destroys every last bit of fun. you CHOOSE to be offended!
— Etienne Gardé (@EtienneToGo) August 21, 2018
This is certainly not what Cyberpunk 2077 envisioned when they said they wanted to be a political game:
