Cyberpunk 2077 developers respond to controversy surrounding epilepsy and seizures in the game

After multiple delays as a result of developmental concerns, Cyberpunk 2077 is finally close to its release. The game has jumped through a series of hoops and has gone through severe trials to reach a point where it is primed for release.

Cyberpunk 2077's launch, however, hasn't gotten off to a particularly positive note as reports of a Day-1 patch emerged soon after the game became available for pre-load.

The game was already an approximately 103 GB mammoth and with a 43 GB patch also added, players weren't exactly pleased.

Cyberpunk 2077's problems, however, wouldn't end there as an unfortunate story involving epilepsy and the game recently surfaced on the internet, leaving a large section of the gaming community to be cross with CDPR.

Cyberpunk 2077 developers respond to controversy surrounding epilepsy and seizures in the game

Thank you for bringing this up. We’re working on adding a separate warning in the game, aside from the one that exists in the EULA (https://t.co/eXpPn73VSK). Regarding a more permanent solution, Dev team is currently exploring that and will be implementing it as soon as possible. https://t.co/lXFypnSit2

— Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) December 8, 2020

The controversy stemmed from Cyberpunk 2077 apparently lacking warnings for players suffering from photosensitive epilepsy, which can lead to severe seizures. The original PSA from GameInformer detailed the triggers and how it could adversely affect certain players.

One of Cyberpunk's most widely-discussed features and game mechanics, Braindance, seems to be the trigger for seizures. Braindance allows the player character, V, to access memories and provide for interesting gameplay opportunities.

However, the Braindance initiation sequence involves V putting on a headset that triggers red and blue flashing LEDs, identical to the device used by medical professionals to trigger seizures in real life.

This understandably led to an uproar within the gaming community as it compromises the accessibility of Cyberpunk 2077 and can adversely affect fans.

CDPR's official response to the controversy was quite positive as they promised Cyberpunk 2077 fans a separate additional warning in the game apart from the standard EULA. Additionally, the dev team will also be working on a permanent solution to this particular issue. It remains to be seen what these changes and fixes could be.

Cyberpunk 2077 releases on the 10th of December and is available for Google Stadia, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, Microsoft Windows.