CD Projekt Red has presented several new wallpapers that were inspired by the Phantom Liberty to Cyberpunk 2077 players, thus allowing them to take a little part of Dogtown with them whenever the screen is lit. The official CyberpunkGame account broke the news with a tweet that was decorated with some creative art pieces and a direct link to the wallpaper downloads. It didn’t matter if you sided with FIA or just played it safe, but the recognition of the expansion Phantom Liberty was there, and now it can be on your desktop or phone in high definition.
The implausibly good news that would seem to be a home run, predictably, incited a whole discussion in the replies. And to be more precise, not about the wallpapers themselves. Certainly not! The community mentioned straight away one most important issue and it was the huge stress laid on Female V in the marketing illustrations while Male V was pushed to the background. Like, what was done to him?? Comments became a battleground to argue about which character version is better, and that is… quite a lot for some wallpaper news.
For example, a user, Felipe Martinez, was very straightforward and simply proclaimed ‘Male V is better’ while another one, Nomad, sadly asked ‘No Male V? 😔’. The same sentiment was felt by the majority of players who thought that their favorite merc was being ignored. It has become a huge issue. User Harry bolz even accused CDPR of ‘banning the male version,’ which is an over-the-top way of saying it but it does reflect the feeling quite well. Conversely, there were some players who were absolutely delighted with the Fem V focus. User br4indance tweeted, ‘always a pleasure to see female V 😌💅🏽✨,’ so it’s not like everyone is unhappy. It’s just… a division. A very strong division.
Honestly, this is not even the first time the topic has come up. The argument, in fact, appears to have been over since the game’s very start. One user, Toodles, went as far as saying that the developers ‘committed to lesbianism with the franchise while Male V is the most popular character of the two,’ which is definitely a… take. They were even bold enough to say that they thought the credits of the Phantom Liberty should feature two versions and not just the one with Female V. On the other hand, user cuntclassique was actively mocking, replying to someone with the comment ‘That male v ugly af boiiiiiii’ accompanied by a meme. The discourse is messy, choom. Real messy.
Not only the V war, but there were some other little gems in the replies. The user with the handle 0EnergyBoy, after seeing the promotional art, straightaway thought of Cyberpunk 2 teaser ? and, like, the response to that should be, let’s not get too excited just yet. Another user, Samurai, directed his attention to practical issues when he asked, ‘Twitch drops dropping when?’ And there was AnyNerd, who went on to make a completely different request: ‘Pleeaaase add More Jazz to Royal Blue Radio 91.9 🌆🕵️’. So the community’s thoughts are scattered all over the place, as always.
It is surprising how just a simple wallpaper drop can show the players’ thoughts about the game and its main characters. The Cyberpunk 2077 expansion pack was a great success that almost reversed the game from bad to good, and amongst other things, it was lauded for its narrative quality. Every player is recalling their choices—user Jordi Santos talked about doing the quests on the side of Reed and just uploaded a gif that most probably explains his emotions the best. Nefeteri Setti, on the other hand, stated ‘I love Dogtown. I wanted a penthouse up in that chaos. xD Or a filthy slum apartment.’ People are really fond of that place.
What is the reason for making the character V the face of the campaign? This appears to be one of the unanswered questions. It could simply be that the artists really like the look of Female V and hence decide to use her for marketing. Maybe there are some internal statistics that we are not privy to. Alternatively, it could just be the overall vibe they want to convey during this particular lot. Who knows? The artist who created the key art, Lukasz Wiktorzak, even contributed to the ongoing discussion while presenting the artwork by stating, ‘I hope you enjoy artwork as I do!’ Thus, at least we know that the one who made it takes pride in their work, which is a nice thing.
In the end, you can visit the official Cyberpunk 2077 site and grab these new Phantom Liberty wallpapers for yourself. They are free, they are gorgeous, and they are a small token of gratitude for anyone who was thrilled to revisit Night City for that expansion. Whether you back Male V or Female V or simply declare ‘I want more jazz on the radio,’ there is something for you here. The impact of Phantom Liberty is still a big deal for players and these wallpapers are just one more way to keep that energy alive on your devices. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to figure out why my V’s face always looks rotten when compared to the promo art. It must be the lighting. Or maybe I am just losing it, like that one user said.
