Cyberpunk 2077 dev responds to Fortnite female V backlash

Amid controversy about the Fortnite collab, a Cyberpunk 2077 developer has explained why the female V avatar was chosen over the male version.

Following several leaks and rumors, Cyberpunk 2077’s Fortnite collab went live on December 23, introducing Johnny Silverhand and V to the battle royale.

The crossover stirred up quite a bit of controversy, though, with many fans of the CD Projekt Red title upset that male V didn’t make the cut like his female counterpart.

Some dubbed it “erasure,” while others argued CDPR probably associates male V with the game’s broken launch, hence female V being more prominent during the marketing for Update 2.0 and Phantom Liberty. One developer has offered a simpler explanation.

Cyberpunk 2077 dev explains decision behind Fortnite V skin

In response to the backlash, Cyberpunk Senior Quest Designer, Patrick K. Mills, said picking female V for the Fortnite skin was ultimately his call.

Johnny Silverhand counted as the male representation for the collab, thus including a female character helped balance things out.

“…I like femme V a little better and we already had a masc character in the form of Johnny,” Mills wrote on Twitter/X (via SparkyFunbuck). He then explained that while each version of V is great, they couldn’t “do both in this collab, so a choice had to be made.”

SparkyFunbuck/Reddit

Ahead of the crossover content’s release, Cyberpunk 2077 fans hoped male V would feature in an Edit Style as an alternative outfit. Mills’ comments indicate this wasn’t an option at all.

In addition to the Johnny and V skins, Fortnite x Cyberpunk 2077 also includes items such as the Mantis Blades pickaxe and a backbling styled after Johnny’s Arasaka nuke.

Players can purchase all of the above in a bundle for 2,800 V-Bucks, though those wanting to grab Cyberpunk’s Quadra Turbo-R car will have to fork over an extra 1,800 V-Bucks.