CD Projekt RED has explained Male V’s ‘disappearance’ in Cyberpunk 2077’s marketing materials, and it makes a lot of sense.
We’re all familiar with Cyberpunk 2077’s iconic original key art; Male V stands armed with a handgun against a yellow background.
The image was everywhere in both the lead-up to the game’s launch and within the post-launch years as developers worked tirelessly to restore fans’ faith in this much-hyped RPG.
As we’re all well aware, they succeeded in doing so with Female V being closely tied with Cyberpunk 2077’s renaissance.
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It was Cyberpunk 2077’s new-gen update, landing in February 2022, that marked the first major step in fixing the game.
Arguably, however, it was the launch of its Phantom Liberty DLC and Update 2.0 in September 2023 that really cemented the game as being back on track.
Phantom Liberty, of course, did mark a marketing shift where it was Female V who then took the spotlight.
Female V cuts a similar pose in the renewed key art, holding a handgun across her body. Here, the yellow background is dropped in favour of red.
Whilst the two versions of the key art do visually separate two key eras of Cyberpunk 2077’s journey, it wasn’t for this reason that devs switched from male to female V.
As spotted by Dexerto, CDPR creative director Igor Sarzynski revealed the true reason behind the shift on BlueSky.
“Male V had whole base game marketing for himself – for Phantom Liberty, we decided to switch it up. One game for each V,” he said.
This Prompts Interesting Questions For The Game’s Sequel
We know that a sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 is in the works, codenamed Project Orion. Little is known beyond that, especially as it’s not set to arrive until after The Witcher 4.
It’s likely that V, male or female, will not return as the game’s protagonist given that there’s a high chance they don’t survive the events of Cyberpunk 2077.
You have to wonder then what replacement CD Projekt RED has in store. If the studio opts to allow players to choose from male and female versions again, could they both occupy a position on the sequel’s cover art? Or does it guarantee that we’ll eventually receive some kind of expansion, allowing the alternative protagonist a chance to shine?
Will the female option take centre stage on the launch art, with the male occupying the DLC or expansion position?
There are so many unknowns.
Of course, CDPR could go down The Witcher route and give us a fixed protagonist, but I feel so much of Cyberpunk 2077’s charm comes from inserting yourself into the world and story.
Launch may be a while off, but keep scrolling to see when we think the window for the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel might be.
Topics: CD Projekt Red, Cyberpunk 2077