Cyberpunk 2077 subreddit goes NSFW in Reddit protest

Main Cyberpunk 2077 subreddit, r/cyberpunkgame, is protesting against recent changes to the Reddit platform by flooding the community with nudity and other NSFW (not safe for work) content, part of the overall pushback against Reddit’s API changes. Cyberpunk enthusiasts from the subreddit have posted naked images of themselves. 2077 characters alongside NSFW and “adults-only” content like artwork and players wielding dildos in the game.

Moderators on the Cyberpunk 2077 subreddit says that Reddit administrators, using the site’s Moderator Code of Conduct account, have since reached out to the r/cyberpunkgame mod team, “demanding [they] switch back.”

“They didn’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’d never thought to change it until recently.

“Until we change it back we’re in violation of Reddit’s sitewide rules. We’re not going to change it back, because this is a sexually explicit game, and also fuck them.”

Moderators of other subreddits that have recently flagged themselves as NSFW, including r/PICS and r/military, say they received similar messages from Reddit’s Mod Code of Conduct team, warning them that they are “inaccurately labeling” their communities as NSFW. The Mod Code of Conduct Team sent the moderator of r/PICS the message below on Thursday.

The Mod Code of Conduct rules 2 prohibits moderators from incorrectly labeling their community as NSFW. This final warning is for the violation of this rule. Your subreddit is not NSFW and has never been in our past policies.

You must immediately remove the NSFW tag from your subreddit. Your moderator team will take action if you do not correct this by Friday. Moderators who engage in these activities will be expelled from the mod team. Moderators may be subjected to other actions as well, such as losing their ability to join future mod teams.

Lastly, if suddenly you begin posting or approving content in your community that contains sexually explicit material in order to justify the NSFW tag, we’ll remove all moderators involved and suspend them permanently.

Since then, moderators of r/PICS & r/military removed the NSFW flags. Cyberpunk 2177 subreddit moderators have not yet backed down, and say they’ll retreat to a secondary subreddit, r/LowSodiumCyberpunk, should the main channel face closure or action against its moderators.

Reddit will not advertise on subreddits marked NSFW. Users of these subreddits must also log in with a Reddit profile or prove that they are 18 years old.

Reddit was contacted for comments by Polygon on this issue. Cyberpunk 2077This story will be updated as soon as the company has responded to subreddit’s protest.