Keanu Reeves, who played rockstar rebel Johnny Silverhand in CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077, was utterly fascinated with news that fans had designed a mod that let players see their avatars having sex with his character.
"Yes!" Reeves exclaimed when told about the short-lived mod during an interview with The Verge, as his Matrix co-star Carrie-Ann Moss jokingly clapped him on the shoulder. "Oh my god; it's always nice when it's nice."
Reeves and Moss, who will reprise their roles as Neo and Trinity in the upcoming franchise revival The Matrix Resurrections as well as the tech demo The Matrix Awakens, went on to discuss the intricacies of sex in gaming, with Moss adding that she would say "no thank you" to any sort of sexual mod that focused on a character in her likeness.
"Think of how much money is in porn, right," Reeves said. "So you could not even have to be there and people could have digital sex with your digital avatar... What's it called right now, For Members Only? You could do a whole thing. Oh my god, and then you get the suit that's probably made in Sweden, or some German thing. Oh my god then you've got the VR thing. Oh my god, then they've got the data on you with your arousal matrix..."
"God help us all," Moss laughed. "That's all I'm gonna say."
Mods immediately emerged following the release of Cyberpunk 2077 which allowed players to simulate sexual encounters with a variety of different characters, but it was the Johnny Silverhand mod that was swiftly shut down by CD Projekt Red.
"Our most important rule regarding user-generated content, game mods in particular, is that it can’t be harmful towards others," CD Projekt Red said in a statement at the time. "...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."
While The Matrix Awakens might not feature sexual shenanigans, the elaborate tech demo -- meant to showcase the unrivaled power of Unreal Engine 5 and due for release in Spring 2022 -- allows players to dip their toes into the world from the films. While the project is not a fully-fledged game, it has been advertised by developer Epic Games as a glimpse at the future of storytelling. The demo is currently available to download for free for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
Source: The Verge