Woah face: Cyberpunk 2077 shuts down sex with Keanu Reeves

Cyberpunk 2077 Keanu Reeves sex
(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

There's no doubt that Cyberpunk 2077 is an adult game stuffed full of sex. So it was only a matter of time before modders tweaked CD Projekt Red's game so they could have virtual sex with Keanu Reeves' character of Johnny Silverhand. 

After the success of the John Wick movies, it's no wonder people might look at Reeves with a dose of lust. But CDPR really doesn't want you, or them, to live out Reeves-based horny fantasies deep within its epic RPG. 

Despite Cyberpunk 2077 allowing the player to have sex from Silverhand’s perspective, CDPR doesn't approve of players basically reversing the scene. 

So the developer took umbrage with a mod that swaps the “joytoy” sex worker plyers can do the dirty with and replace it with Silverhand's model. Even though the character model stays clothed through the act of virtual sex, and still uses the stock joytoy voice, the mod basically allowed players to get down to it with a digital Keanu Reeves. 

Of course, Johnny isn’t the only character people have modded into those scenes, but CDPR’s issue here is all down to the fact Johnny’s character model is based on a real person. While CDPR allows mods and even recently released official modding tools, this is one step too far.

Cyberpunk 2077 review

(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

CDPR: Please 'refrain' Keanu sex mods

Cyberpunk 2077 review

(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

The developer told our sibling site PC Gamer that “when it comes to models of real people whom we’ve asked to participate in the game, we kindly ask you to refrain from using them in any situation that might be found offensive if you don’t have their explicit permission.”

That's a reasonable request. Keanu Reeves may have been involved in the game, but if he didn’t explicitly give his permission to be the subject of a sex scene then he has every right not to be. It’s not the same as swapping in a character model that wasn’t deliberately designed to look like a real person.

Cyberpunk 2077 isn't short of celebrity cameos, but it seems the majority of them won't end up as your in-game liaisons - mods or not. Speaking with Eurogamer, mod creator Catmino said that the technical challenges of the process mean characters with fleeting appearances in the game can’t be swapped around. So you won’t be having any encounters with the likes of Hideo Kojima, who happens to pop up in Cyberpunk 2077 very briefly. 

He also made it clear that if Keanu Reeves or CDPR objected to the mod, he'd take it down from the Nexus Mods repository. In light of CDPR’s statement to PC Gamer, it seems Catmino has obliged because the mod appears to be gone. Though he did note that someone else would manage it eventually, so this probably isn’t the last we’ve seen of sexy Keanu.

Tom Pritchard
UK Phones Editor

Tom is the Tom's Guide's UK Phones Editor, tackling the latest smartphone news and vocally expressing his opinions about upcoming features or changes. It's long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo UK, when pretty much everything was on the table. He’s usually found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining about how terrible his Smart TV is.