This is the question Cyberpunk 2077 star Keanu Reeves, playing Johnny Silverhand - or, rather, the digital ghost of Johnny Silverhand - asks in a new commercial for the game. Apparently, breaking your promise not to subject your employees to mandatory crunch isn’t the answer. Nice try, though. The advert aired during an NBA game to reach a wide array of viewers, with star power to boot. There isn’t really much by way of new footage in the ad, but it sure works as a great highlight reel of what we’ve already seen. It isn’t long either - NBA airtime comes at a premium, see - clocking in at exactly half a minute, with a few shots of Johnny Silverhand’s actor interspersed with clips cut from other trailers and demos. We get a look at the city, V’s car, the impressive Mantis Blade cyberware that’s become something of an icon for the game and more. Keanu…er, Johnny, this is in character after all, answers his question - “by getting caught”. Anyone familiar with the Cyberpunk setting knows that everyone is basically a criminal with varying degrees of ruthlessness and greed, only some of them dress up in uniform and call it law enforcement. We also get a nice montage of cyberware use and an implanting surgery during which the actor says that in Night City you can become anyone and anything, if your body can pay the price. Sure, it sounds like it’s just cool exposition, but maybe it alludes to some kind of penalty for using lots of cyberware to balance out the benefits. Finally, Johnny dramatically sits into an expensive looking car - cut in just after a shot of V firing out the side of a car in the game with its door torn off - telling the viewer to seize the day and burn it down. This references Johnny’s anarchic beliefs, which have always been a key element of this character.
Cyberpunk 2077 will launch on the 10th of December, 2020.
