Cyberpunk 2077 subreddit goes extremely NSFW in Reddit protest

The most important Cyberpunk 2077 subreddit, r/cyberpunkgameprotests recent changes to the Reddit platform by flooding the community with nudity and other NSFW (not safe for work) content, part of the overall backlash against Reddit’s API changes. Members of the subreddit, which has over 1.1 million Cyberpunk fans, have posted nude versions of their 2077 characters in addition to NSFW and adult-only content such as artwork and players wielding dildos in the game.

A moderator on the Cyberpunk 2077 subreddit says that Reddit admins, using the site’s Moderator Code of Conduct accounthave since contacted the r/cyberpunkgame mod team, “demanding [they] switch back.”

“They wouldn’t allow us to reply, so we couldn’t explain that this is a subreddit for an 18+ game, nor has any of our content changed,” subreddit moderator Tabnam wrote on Wednesday. “This subreddit should have been NSFW already, but we never thought to change it until recently.

“Until we change it back, we’re violating Reddit’s sitewide rules. We’re not going to change it back because this is a sexually explicit game, and they’re fucking too.”

Moderators of other subreddits that have recently flagged themselves as NSFW, including r/PICS And r/military, say they have received similar messages from Reddit’s Mod Code of Conduct team, warning them that they are “mislabeling” their communities as NSFW. On Thursday, a moderator for r/PICS posted the following messagereportedly from the Mod Code of Conduct team:

This is a final warning against inaccurately labeling your community as NSFW, which violates Rule 2 of the Mod Code of Conduct. Your subreddit has not historically been considered NSFW and would not be under our current policy.

Please correct the NSFW labels on your subreddit immediately. Failure to do so will result in action being taken in your moderator team by the end of this week. This means that moderators involved in this activity will be removed from this mod team. Moderators may also be subject to additional actions, for example losing the ability to join mod teams in the future.

Finally, if you suddenly start posting or endorsing content containing sexually explicit content for your community to warrant the NSFW label, we will immediately remove and permanently suspend moderators who participated in this action.

Moderators of r/PICS and r/military have since removed their NSFW flags. Cyberpunk 2077 subreddit moderators have not yet resigned and say they will be retiring to a secondary subreddit, r/LowSodiumCyberpunk, should the main channel be closed or take action against the moderators.

Reddit does not advertise on subreddits with the NSFW designation. Those adult subreddits also require users to log into a Reddit account or confirm that they are at least 18 years old.

Polygon has reached out to Reddit for comment on the Cyberpunk 2077 subreddit protest and will update this story when the company responds.