Cyberpunk 2077 devs apologize for anti-Russian voice lines in Ukrainian version of the game

Ethan Dean

Cyberpunk 2077’s Ukrainian localization team appears to have snuck in some anti-Russian dialogue and imagery. CD Projekt Red has apologized to Russian players and is working to remove the content.

Cyberpunk 2077 is in the midst of a major revival with the launch of its 2.0 update and the Phantom Liberty expansion. The massive overhaul that came with the update has been positively received with players saying it feels like a whole new game.

Along with changes to progression and the all-new Relic Skills, Cyberpunk 2077 2.0 added Ukrainian localization to the game. However, as initially reported by Rock, Paper, Shotgun, the Ukrainian localization of the game features modified dialogue and imagery that takes some jabs at Russia’s invasion.

Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red has taken to Telegram to apologize for and explain the incident. While the developer has previously aligned themselves with Ukraine amid the conflict, they’re not taking ownership of this particular political statement.

Developers have stated explicitly that “these remarks were not written by CD PROJEKT RED employees” and do not represent the views of the company. It’s implied that the changes were made by the firm hired to localize the game and these include images and dialogue.

A line from the NCPD that normally says, “Couldn’t all these a**holes bite it out in the Badlands” has been changed to “Couldn’t all this rusnia bite it out in the Badlands?” Rusnia is a derogatory term for Russians that was recently coined during the current conflict.

Another alteration in the Ukrainian edition of the game has been edited to say “Go f**ck yourself in the same direction as the ship did”. This is in reference to an incident in 2022 where a small force of Ukrainians told Russian forces to go f**k themselves via radio.

As well as the dialogue, certain anti-Russian images were added to the Ukrainian version of Cyberpunk 2077. Graffiti in the game features the Ukrainian coat of arms and a symbol representing the Crimean Tatars sprayed over a rough map of Crimea.

CD Projekt Red acknowledged that these inclusions could offend some Russian players of Cyberpunk 2077 and are making efforts to get rid of the content. “We are working to fix them and replace them in the next update,” the company posted to Telegram.

While CD Projekt Red has made it known previously that they support Ukraine through monetary donations and the halting of sales for their games in Russia and Belarus, It’s likely that the more overt hostility of these inclusions has prompted this response.