CD Projekt Red has apologised for in-game dialog and graffiti included in the Ukrainian localisation of Cyberpunk 2077 (introduced with the 2.0 update) which references and criticises the Russian invasion of the country – and says the next update will see the removal of them.
The anti-Russian localisations in Cyberpunk 2077’s Ukrainian version were first spotted by Zone of Games via Rock, Paper, Shotgun, and include alterations to dialogue – one line changes “We’re fucking through,” to a Ukrainian phrase that roughly translates to “go fuck yourself in the same direction as the ship did,” a reference to a Ukrainian border guard’s now-famous response to Russian demands to surrender Snake Island in February 2022.
Another edited line of dialogue sees police reference the Scavengers faction, and while the English version says, “couldn’t all these assholes bite it out in the Badlands?”, the Ukrainian version instead says, “couldn’t all this rusnia bite it out in the Badlands?” For reference, ‘rusnia’ is a derogatory Ukrainian term for Russians.
The anti-Russian and pro-Ukrainian references in Cyberpunk 2077 go beyond just minor dialogue tweaks, though. At least one piece of graffiti in the game depicts the Ukrainian coat of arms and symbol of the Crimean Tatars over a rough outline of Crimea, referencing Russia’s occupation of the peninsula in 2014. The inventory screens also appear to reference Ukrainian state messaging during the war, according to Ukraine-based Indie Cup’s Arsenii Tarasov.
SBT Localizaton is the Ukrainian company behind Cyberpunk 2077’s localisation, and has previously worked on Baldur’s Gate 3 and Kingdom Come: Deliverance.
The changes in the Ukrainian localisation of Cyberpunk 2077 do seem consistent with CD Projekt Red’s stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine – the studio previously donated over $300,000 AUD to a humanitarian group in support of Ukrainian victims, and halted sales of all their games in Russia and Belarus in March 2022 – however has since taken to Russian social platforms Telegram and VK to apologise for these additions, and promised that they would be removed.
“The Ukrainian localization of Cyberpunk 2077 contains several remarks that could offend some Russian players. These remarks were not written by CD PROJEKT RED employees and do not represent our views,” the post reads (translated via Google). “We are working to fix them and replace them in the next update. We apologise for this situation and are taking steps to ensure it does not happen again.”
Some users have taken to Steam to allege that Cyberpunk 2077’s localisation contains content that “incites national and racial hatred” against Russians. Another user claimed CD Projekt Red was “supporting Nazism and racism,” in the same thread.
CD Projekt Red has yet to comment further on Cyberpunk 2077’s localisation, but it looks likely that these small tweaks will be removed shortly – just as the game’s first expansion, Phantom Liberty, releases. We’ll update this article should either CD Projekt Red or SBT Localization comment further on the situation.
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