Made by modder Catmino, the mod offered swaps for a variety of characters in Cyberpunk 2077, along with an explanation for how to do the whole process manually. It seems CDPR took issue with one specific model swap, the Johnny Silverhand joytoy file, which allowed players to have sex with Keanu Reeves’ character. CDPR told me it doesn’t mind modders using model swaps for most of the fictional characters in the game, but draws the line at using real-world likenesses in explicit scenes without that person’s permission.
“Our most important rule regarding user-generated content, game mods in particular, is that it can’t be harmful towards others,” CD Projekt Red told Eurogamer in a statement. “In the case of model swaps, especially those that involve 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 have to make sure they’ve got permission from all the concerned parties (which might be people other than CD Projekt Red). For the characters we’ve invented for the game, we broadly permit you to tweak the game at will and just have fun. 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.
“For a more granular set of rules, please check the License Agreement and Fan Content Guidelines.”
So, according to CDPR’s fan content rules, anyone hoping to mod Keanu Reeves into an explicit scene would have to get permission from the man himself. Good luck with that.
The model swap mod was set to hidden, with a note from author Catmino (now removed) explaining they were currently “clearing things out with CDPR”. When I spoke to the modder for a previous article, they noted the Johnny Silverhand joytoy swap was not a feature in the first version of the mod, and was only introduced due to popular request. As the mod’s manual instructions and other swaps could potentially allow players to continue modding characters into the place of joytoys, it seems unlikely the mod will return in any form.
This appears to be the first time CDPR has intervened to remove a Cyberpunk 2077 mod, but with a number of celebrities featured in the game - including Hideo Kojima, cameos by famous streamers and voice acting by Grimes - the developer will likely have to keep an eye out for those hoping to bend the rules.
Meanwhile, CDPR yesterday released some basic modding resources for those hoping to create their own Cyberpunk 2077 modding tools - so long as you don’t make naughty scenes with celebrities.
