CD Projekt Red Explains Cyberpunk 2077’s Shift From Male V to Female V in Marketing

Cyberpunk has spent the last two years presenting a different face than many players remember from 2020. When I look at the game’s post-launch trailers, store banners, and expansion artwork, female V stands front and center. Male V, once the default image on physical covers and early ads, is gone. That change has lingered long enough to spark speculation, but the explanation turned out to be direct.

The shift began with the 2.0 update and the Phantom Liberty expansion. As Cyberpunk rebuilt itself after a difficult launch, CD Projekt Red also rebuilt how it presented the game. Female V became the visual anchor for the relaunch. Since then, sales have stayed strong, and new players keep arriving, yet the marketing direction has not swung back.

For players who bought the original disc release, the absence feels sharper. Male V carried the pre-launch campaign and dominated trailers, posters, and box art. As patches repaired broken systems and the RPG gained renewed praise, that version of the character quietly disappeared from official promotion. Online discussion filled the gap with theories, some practical, others conspiratorial.

The actual reasoning surfaced last week when Cyberpunk 2 creative director Igor Sarzynski addressed the question directly via BlueSky.

"Male V had whole base game marketing for himself," Sarzynski wrote when asked about the change. "The team simply decided to go 50/50 for Phantom Liberty. One game for each V."— Igor Sarzynski

The statement reframes the issue as a balance rather than a replacement. Male V led the original campaign. Female V led the expansion and relaunch. No deeper agenda, no hidden preference data cited. Just a split across two major phases of the game’s life.

I see why that explanation lands for some players and leaves others unconvinced. Marketing decisions at this scale rarely happen without debate. A relaunch tied to a major expansion usually involves long-term planning and audience analysis. Still, Sarzynski’s comment suggests the studio did not treat the choice as a referendum on which protagonist players liked more.

Among longtime players, there is little agreement that one version of V clearly outperforms the other. Unlike Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, where many settled on Kassandra as the stronger lead, Cyberpunk’s split feels more even. Both voice performances are well regarded, and both support the same core narrative arc.

The decision between male and female V also affects more than presentation. Romance options differ, and those differences shape entire questlines. Choosing one locks out specific relationships and scenes. Veterans often recommend at least two full playthroughs to see the branching paths and character arcs tied to each version. The choice alters tone and pacing in subtle ways, even when the main plot beats stay the same.

Some players argue that female V offers a richer overall experience due to access to the Judy romance, which intersects more closely with the main storyline. That perspective comes up often in community discussions, though it remains subjective. What is not in dispute is the consistency of quality across both versions, from dialogue delivery to emotional range.

What remains unknown is the actual data. CD Projekt Red has never released statistics on protagonist selection or life path popularity. Without that, the debate rests on anecdote and perception. If Sarzynski’s account is accurate, the studio did not view the marketing handoff as a response to player behavior. It was a clean division between the base game and its defining expansion.

For a title that has already rewritten its own reputation once, the explanation fits Cyberpunk’s broader arc. The game launched under strain, rebuilt itself piece by piece, and emerged as something sturdier. The face on the posters changed along the way, but the intent, at least publicly, stayed simple.

Read also, CD Projekt RED has addressed long-standing criticism that Jackie Welles’ story ends too quickly in Cyberpunk 2077. The studio acknowledged the concern while reflecting on the game’s uneven launch more than five years ago, marked by serious technical problems. Despite that start, sustained updates and expansions have reshaped Cyberpunk into one of the strongest RPGs of this generation.