CD Projekt have formally commented on the presence of references to the Russia-Ukraine war in Cyberpunk 2077’s recently added Ukrainian localisation, apologising for dialogue lines “that can be considered offensive by Russian gamers”, while reiterating their support for Ukraine.
In case you missed it, the Ukrainian script and menu localisation currently includes a number of antagonistic references to Russians and to the on-going Russian invasion of Ukraine. One dialogue line refers to a particular bandit group as “rusnia”, and there’s photo mode menu text for a squatting character that translates as “like a Russian”. There’s also lore text that apparently riffs on Ukrainian government rhetoric during the war, and a piece of in-game wallart that alludes to the dispute between Ukraine and Russia over Crimea.
No. I don’t think a dystopian future should ever mention anything remotely political or in the public mind. Totally irrelevant to the plot.
It can make political points, but the war in Ukraine does not exist in that timeline. So it makes no sense to directly refer to it. And forcing it into only the Ukrainian translation without the developer being aware of it is just unprofessional.