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Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red has touched on the inclusion of politics in video games, stating that they are just one of many subjects that can provoke strong emotions in players, and therefore 'one shouldn't stray from that' when necessary.
The studio's comments come during a chat with the September 2018 issue of Official PlayStation Magazine UK, where Cyberpunk 2077 writer Stanislaw Swiecicki was quizzed on what he feels about the notion that video games shouldn't broach the subject of politics.
'I think what makes games powerful…the moments like when I feel that a scene becomes powerful, it's when they touch upon universal human emotions, like fear, loss, love, friendship, trust, and sometimes that touches upon the politics spectrum. I think one shouldn't stray from that,' said Swiecicki.
'For me anything that makes you feel emotions…the emotions become stronger the more it touches upon you as a person the better. Sometimes politics is part of that in a neutral way. In the sort of storytelling we're going for we really want to be a game for mature audiences, so it has to have all those things.'
In unrelated comments, he added that his favourite stat in Cyberpunk 2077 is the 'Cool' stat:
'I think that would be the Cool stat! Because in the end Cyberpunk is really still what Mike (that's Mike Pondsmith, designer of Cyberpunk 2020) said: "It's style over substance." So yeah, that's my favourite,' he replied.
Cyberpunk 2077 is due for release on PlayStation 4, PC, and Xbox One, though a release date has yet to be announced. It'll feature a seamless open-world to explore with no loading times, and flying cars that you sadly won't be able to control.
