Who Does Keanu Reeves Play in Cyberpunk 2077? | E3 2019

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Keanu Reeves showed up during Cyberpunk’s new trailer where he announced when the game was going to release. However, what do we know about the character he’s going to play?

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We had unexpected guest Keanu Reeves come out during Microsoft’s E3 2019 conference where he talked about Cyberpunk 2077 and dropped the game’s release date, which is April 16, 2020. The movie star talked a little bit about the game before walking off the stage. Despite him only being there a short time, he left a significant impact, and the one-armed cybernetic man he played is shrouded in mystery. A brand new press release came out shortly after Microsoft’s conference to help clear the details on who he’s playing, and what role he’s going to have in the player’s story as they explore Night City.

Keanu Reeves in Cyberpunk 2077

Who Does He Play?

For fans of the original Cyberpunk 2020 tabletop RPG, you may have known who he was right off the bat given his iconic silver arm. He’s playing an NPC named Johnny Silverhand who’s class is called Rockerboy, a character class that’s eerily similar to Dungeon & Dragon’s bard. Unlike D&D’s bard, they’re far less friendly.

Silverhand comes from some of the game’s original storylines, written by Mike Pondsmith. Silverhand reaches out to players for help when his girlfriend, Alt, gets captured by a rival gang. He doesn’t receive the best scenario, given the tragedy, but players can expect to turn his luck around and fight back against the gang members of Night City. Hopefully, we see plenty of Reeves’ acting chops play a central role in several story moments throughout Cyberpunk 2077.

What are Rockerboys? They have rebellious roots and enjoy fighting the power of the “man.” Many of them are interested in fighting the higher-ups and the overall authority of the system, through the power of music. The Rockerboy class also uses music to inspire, sway, and persuade large groups of people to their side to cause chaos or turn a situation to their favor. They also use music during combat, usually carrying some form of an instrument on them to take out and use as for whatever situation.

Here’s a more thorough description of the character class from the Cyberpunk fandom page.

Keanu Reeves Stole the Show

It was a high-point of the event. Not only was the crowd excited to see John Wick himself show up with a massive smile on his face, but the actor himself was excited to see the roaring crowd as they greeted his appearance. Here’s a brief and excellent exchange between him and the group during his time on the conference floor.

We can’t wait to see what else Reeves and the game developers, CD Projekt Red, have in-store to help promote the game for the next year. You have the opportunity to pre-order Cyberpunk 2077 right now, but you still have a year until the title officially releases. It’s going to come to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on April 16, 2020.


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Zack Palm
Zack Palm is the Senior Writer of Gamepur and has spent over five years covering video games, and earned a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Oregon State University. He spends his free time biking, running tabletop campaigns, and listening to heavy metal. His primary game beats are Pokémon Go, Destiny 2, Final Fantasy XIV, and any newly released title, and he finds it difficult to pull away from any Star Wars game.