No one was particularly surprised when the modders were able to put Keanu Reeves’ character in the Cyberpunk 2077 sex scenes, so it may be even less shocking that CD Projekt Red has intervened – and the model change mod in question was taken offline.
Made by modder Catmino, the mod offered exchanges for a variety of characters in Cyberpunk 2077, along with an explanation of how to do the entire process manually. It appears that CDPR had problems with a specific model change, the Joytoy Johnny Silverhand file, which allowed players to have sex with Keanu Reeves’ character. CDPR told me that it doesn’t care about modders using model changes for most fictional characters in the game, but it draws the line by using real-world similarities in explicit scenes without that person’s permission.
“Our most important rule regarding user-generated content, game mods in particular, is that it cannot be harmful to others,” CD Projekt Red told Eurogamer in a statement. “In the case of model changes, especially those involving explicit situations, it can be perceived as such by the people who lent us their appearance for the purpose of creating characters in Cyberpunk 2077.
“Therefore, when making fan content, creators should make sure that they have permission from all interested parties (which could be other people besides CD Projekt Red). For the characters that we invented for the game, we widely allow to adjust the play at ease and just have fun.When it comes to models of real people we ask to participate in the game, we ask that you do not use them in any situation that could be considered offensive if you do not have their explicit permission.
“For a more granular set of rules, check the License Agreement and Fan Content Guidelines.”
So, according to CDPR fan content rules, anyone wishing to make Keanu Reeves an explicit scene would have to get permission from the man himself. Good luck with that.
The model change mod was set to be hidden, with a note from author Catmino (now removed) explaining that they were currently “cleaning things up with CDPR”. When I spoke to the modder for an earlier article, they noticed that Johnny Silverhand’s joytoy exchange was not a feature in the first version of the mod and was only introduced due to a popular request. Since the instructions in the mod manual and other exchanges can allow players to continue modifying characters in place of joytoys, it seems unlikely that the mod will return anyway.
This appears to be the first time that CDPR has intervened to remove a Cyberpunk 2077 mod, but with a number of celebrities featured in the game – including Hideo Kojima, cameos from famous streamers and Grimes dubbing – the developer will likely have to keep an eye out for those who wish to break the rules.
In the meantime, CDPR yesterday released some basic modding features for those who want to create their own Cyberpunk 2077 modding tools – as long as you don’t do nasty scenes with celebrities.