Srs Bsns: How ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ Kept The Hype Train Fueled Through Memes Leading Right Up To Release

Well, it’s been a long time coming, but we’ve finally arrived … the release of Cyberpunk 2077 is upon us. Spawned from the sci-fi sub-genre cyberpunk, CD Projekt Red’s open-world role-playing game is perhaps this year’s most highly anticipated release in the gaming scene, with fans clamoring to get their hands on it for years. Through all the delays, controversies and more, the hype has never stopped.

With over eight years of development under the hood, many games with such a long and arduous development road would’ve been forgotten. But as you can tell given the sheer level of discussion surrounding Cyberpunk 2077 this year alone, the game has never truly fallen to the wayside.

One of CDPR’s biggest advantages in this is how prevalent the game and its promotional material have been in meme culture. Not just in 2020, but for at least four years now Cyberpunk has again and again been the subject of memes, keeping it top-of-mind for gamers everywhere. Not all of these memes have been in a positive light for the RPG either, but any press is good press, right?

Let’s take a look back at the history of Cyberpunk 2077’s most memeable moments from the last several years leading up to where we are now just upon the cusp of release in order to learn more about how memes helped drive the hype train right up to the station.

Cyberpunk 2077 Parody Edits

Although it was in development since at least 2012 (with the first trailer dropping in early 2013), it wasn’t until 2018 when the game first started becoming the subject of widespread memes. First up was the multitude of Cyberpunk 2077 parody edits, which included pictures of people and animals humorously interfacing with various gadgets and technology with the game’s logo superimposed over images. The earliest known example of these memes began in September 2018 after a Redditor posted a photograph of a man wearing his cellphone in the back of a baseball cap to the /r/gaming subreddit.

It didn’t take long for the trend to spread to other communities on Reddit, then Twitter and further on from there as more and more people added to the format. Despite their age, these parodies have remained in circulation the last few years with the occasional fresh take appearing even to this day. Although these memes poked fun at the world and aesthetic of Cyberpunk, they certainly played a role in creating brand awareness for the title.

Keanu Reeves / We Have a City to Burn

Arguably the most well-known series of memes to spawn from Cyberpunk, Keanu Reeves' appearance during Microsoft’s Xbox E3 2019 press conference and the game’s teaser trailer that showcased his in-game role as the character Johnny Silverhand sparked three separate memes over the summer of 2019. First among these was the iconic line “We Have a City to Burn” uttered by Reeves’ character during the trailer.

Within mere hours of the teaser being shown off and then going up online, the scene became a prominent meme format on sites ranging from 4chan to Twitter. Although relatively short-lived compared to the other two memes that followed the conference, an image macro based on the quote gained popularity around the web nonetheless over the latter half of 2019.

You're Breathtaking

Also taking place during the 2019 Microsoft Xbox E3 press conference, “You're Breathtaking” proved to be a near-universally beloved meme in short order — which isn’t too surprising since the internet loves Keanu Reeves. The wholesome interaction occurred when conference attendee Peter Sark shouted “you're breathtaking” to Reeves, which the actor replied to by calling him and other people in the audience “breathtaking.” Naturally, the internet began memeing the interaction almost as soon as it happened, giving life to a diverse array of memes using the quote.

Helping to propel this meme even further, the viral moment when Reeves made a quick stop to autograph a yard sign that read “You're Breathtaking” in July 2019 resulted in even non-gamers becoming aware of the iconic catchphrase. Twitter, in particular, referenced the wholesome moment with a slew of humorous takes shortly after.

Mini Keanu Reeves

The final meme to come out of the E3 conference was none other than Mini Keanu Reeves. Ripped from the on-stage appearance of the actor during the game’s showcase, a Twitter user edited a short version of Reeves later that day and it rapidly became adopted by memers all over the web.

Though this meme and the other Reeves’ variant before it don’t exactly “promote” Cyberpunk 2077 with a logo or in-game scene, many memes using the formats referenced the RPG through captions, which helped introduce it to a wider audience. Additionally, since Reeves is a prominent figure among internet and meme culture, his inclusion in these memes undoubtedly led to an interest in their origin, resulting in another wave of Cyberpunk interest.

Genital Customization

In May this year, back when the game was still slated for a September release date, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) gave it a “Mature” rating and cited “Players can select a gender and customize their character; customization can include depictions of breasts, buttocks, and genitalia, as well as various sizes and combinations of genitals.” News of Cyberpunk 2077’s genital customization was quickly picked up by media outlets and became a hot topic of conversation. Naturally, this humorous tidbit of info surrounding the game led to a wide range of memes almost immediately.

Originating primarily on Reddit, the announcement led to many memes giving hilarious depictions of what custom genitalia could look like in the game. Referencing a multitude of other memes and cursed images, the theme remains even today as new takes continue to pop up just ahead of release.

Delay Message Parodies

While somewhat disappointing and certainly not showcasing it in a good light, the many pushbacks surrounding the game produced a noteworthy image of a bright-yellow square with stark black lettering that became synonymous with delays. After the first announced delay from CDPR back in January, these Cyberpunk 2077 delay message parodies proved to be easy memeing material throughout 2020, reaching their peak in October after the game’s most recent delay to December 10th.

Since meme creators are known for their cathartic methods of dealing with bad news, the slew of delay message parodies saw such memes using the format on just about every social media site for months throughout 2020. Despite the real delays resulting in backlash online, the parodies nonetheless played another role in keeping Cyberpunk in the discussion, as well as aware of its release date.

Each of these major memes surrounding Cyberpunk 2077, as well as others that discussed lesser-known elements without a unifying format, each contributed to where we are today, just hours before the game finally reaches eager fans. While all of these appear to have developed organically without any influence or covert marketing campaigns from CDPR, it’s hard to argue that the immense hype for Cyberpunk remains so fervent after all these years due to the role such memes played in keeping the game in headlines and on timelines everywhere.

Much like other meme-heavy video games, such as Skyrim, it’s safe to say that Cyberpunk 2077’s legacy through memes is far from over. As players begin digging into the story in the near future, we expect many more memes to come from what might be this year’s most memed game to date … even if it fails to live up to the hype.