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Cyberpunk 2077’s Ukrainian localisation takes the piss out of Russia’s war“Go fuck yourself in the same direction as the ship did.”
“Go fuck yourself in the same direction as the ship did.”
Image credit:Arsenii Tarasov/CD Projekt
Image credit:Arsenii Tarasov/CD Projekt
I asked the organisers ofIndie Cup- a Kyiv, Ukraine-based digital festival of games like Pahris Entertainment’s upcomingSpace Wreck- to help me double-check the Ukrainian version’s alterations. The Indie Cup team’s Arsenii Tarasov was happy to oblige, and also volunteered a few further examples of more… adventurous localisation from his own research, supported with screenshots.
According to Tarasov, one ofCyberpunk 2077’s Ukrainian dialogue line alters “We’re fucking through” to a Ukrainian phrase that roughly means “Go fuck yourself in the same direction as the ship did”. This appears to be a reference to the Ukrainian border guard Roman Hrybov’sfamous radio response to the Russian missile cruiser Moskva, when asked to surrender in February 2022. The line has become a resistance slogan within Ukraine and among pro-Ukrainian groups overseas - it’s even been commemorated in the form of a postage stamp.
Image credit:Arsenii Tarasov/CD Projekt
Image credit:Arsenii Tarasov/CD Projekt
One line of police dialogue referring to the game’sScavengersfaction has been altered from the English “Couldn’t all these assholes bite it out in the Badlands?” to a Ukrainian phrase that translates as “Couldn’t all this rusnia bite it out in the Badlands?” As Tarasov explains, “‘rusnia’ is a Ukrainian derogatory term for russians. Scavengers are the stereotypical Eastern European gang in the game’s universe.”
Image credit:Arsenii Tarasov/CD Projekt
According to Tarasov, one crouching character pose you can select when using photo mode now bears the Ukrainian text for “like a Russian”. Tarasov added: “no comment needed”.
Image credit:Arsenii Tarasov/CD Projekt
CD Projekt have made no bones of their opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The companyhalted sales of their games in Russia in March 2022, shortly after the outbreak of hostilities, andhave set up a relief fund for Ukrainian refugees. According to the Phantom Liberty credits, CD Projekt partnered with Ukrainian company SBT Localization on Cyberpunk 2077’s Ukrainian script.
We’ve asked CD Projekt for comment on the changes.
As you’ve hopefully read elsewhere on here,Cyberpunk 2077’s first and only expansion, Phantom Liberty, releases today. In ourCyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty review, Graham deemed it “a brilliantly written and performed spy-thriller”.
This seems as good a moment as any to say thatSpace Wreck- which launched into early access in December and hits 1.0 in October - looks pretty decent too. It’s a post-apocalyptic isometricRPGin theFallouttradition in which you explore a stranded spaceship. It’s said to be relatively short for a CRPG, but very deep. There’s ademo, if you’re interested, and here’s a trailer.
Space Wreck Story TrailerWatch on YouTube
Space Wreck Story Trailer
Update on 26th September 2023: CD Projekt have commented on the story, apologising for the presence of dialogue elements that could be offensive to Russians in the game’s Ukrainian localisation. Find morehere.
