During E3 2018, the public was shown an approximately two-minute trailer, but behind closed doors an invitation-only showcase was held in which CD Project Red allowed the insiders to play a fifty-minute demo. The demo, among the various features present, put on display male and female bodies completely naked. The genitals, in that case, as we learn from Polygon, were covered with pixelated cubes, but in the final game the full nudes will not be censored.
The director of the game, Adam Badowski, argued that this preventive censorship was added so as not to lead reporters to think that CD Projekt Red wanted to make a sensation with the nudity and because he did not want them to spread irony and giggles in the room (which it did anyway). As mentioned, in the final version of the game, censorship will be lifted and players will have to expect full nude scenes, because for the Polish development studio, nudity is a natural thing and must also be represented in video games.
We've covered these parts for a reason. Because during the presentation, we don't want people to focus and think about these things and laugh. It's normal! Nudity makes everything more credible; that's why we want to have it. There is nothing special about it.
Cyberpunk 2077: full nudity as food for thought
Badowski said that in the final game, nudity will be portrayed without too many problems, not to make people talk about it, but because supports one of the most important themes of the cyberpunk genre: transhumanism, the belief that humanity can transcend its current mental and physical form with the help of technology. Throughout Cyberpunk 2077, players will have to grapple with the implications of becoming transhuman. One of the ways that the team has decided to use to make everything more credible is precisely to show naked bodies, before and after the technological "transformation".
Nudity is important to us for a reason. This is cyberpunk, so people use enhancements for their body. The body is no longer sacred; it's profane. Because people change everything, they are losing their connection with the body, with the flesh. And that is why we need to use nudity in many situations.
In a demo quest, you see that there are bodies in the tub, and you need to take care of this woman. But at the same time you see that she has power ups. Maybe she also has too many. The level of humanity is quite low in her, so it's an interesting topic. It is one of the key themes of cyberpunk. The first scenes from the original Ghost in the Shell anime show exactly the same look. Because where is the sacred and where is the profane in a world where you can simply modify yourself to such limits that you are a different kind of person? It is one of the most important themes of cyberpunk, as a genre.
If anyone still had doubts about the quality of the story and the depth of the topics covered in Cyberpunk 2077, reading Badowski's words, one can think again. Recall that the developers have confirmed the release of the game on the consoles of the current generation and that the visual will be in first person. If you want more information about the game, also read the our special post E3.