William Gibson doesn't think Cyberpunk 2077 is cyberpunk enough

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The pioneering cyberpunk author called Cyberpunk 2077's E3 trailer 'generic.'

That Cyberpunk 2077 E3 2018 trailer was a lot to take in: neon mohawks, MMA androids, flying cars, non-flying but somehow cooler cars, a lot of guns. But William Gibson, author of Neuromancer and father of cyberpunk, isn't convinced.

"The trailer for Cyberpunk 2077 strikes me as GTA skinned-over with a generic 80s retro-future," Gibson wrote on twitter, "but hey, that's just me."

It has to sting a little to be called 'generic 80s retro-future' by the person who helped invent the genre your game is named after (first in the form of Mike Pondsmith's tabletop game). To be fair, though, Gibson also spends his time on Twitter retweeting New York Times op-ed columnist Paul Krugman and former George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum, and that isn't very cyberpunk, either.

What did you think of the trailer? Too retro-future? Just right?

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Tyler Wilde
Tyler Wilde
Editor-in-Chief, US

Tyler grew up in Silicon Valley during the '80s and '90s, playing games like Zork and Arkanoid on early PCs. He was later captivated by Myst, SimCity, Civilization, Command & Conquer, all the shooters they call "boomer shooters" now, and PS1 classic Bushido Blade (that's right: he had Bleem!). Tyler joined PC Gamer in 2011, and today he's focused on the site's news coverage. His hobbies include amateur boxing and adding to his 1,200-plus hours in Rocket League.