Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t even out yet, but we’re already starting to see plenty of incredible cosplay efforts inspired by CD Projekt RED’s 2020 sci-fi RPG. At E3 2019 alone, I saw some seriously impressive – and stylish – Cyberpunk costumes that made me feel entirely under-dressed.
This surge in cosplay among the Cyberpunk fandom clearly hasn’t escaped the attention of CD Projekt RED, as the company has decided to encourage the fun by announcing an official Cyberpunk 2077 cosplay contest – with a fairly hefty cash prize, no less.
You can enter the Cyberpunk 2077 contest by showing off your creation online or in person at one of five upcoming international video game events (which I’ll detail in just a sec). If CD Projekt RED deems your outfit to be most on fleek (do people still say that?), then you’ll bag a cash prize of $15,000, a photoshoot for a magazine cover, and a bunch of cool merch – including a collector’s edition of the game itself.
The final competition will be held in 2020 and will feature five winners from each of the qualifying events, plus five chosen from the online submissions.
Here are the dates for each qualifier:
Gamescom (Cologne, Germany) – Aug. 21-24
PAX West (Seattle, USA) – Aug. 31-Sep. 3
Tokyo Game Show (Tokyo, Japan) – Sep. 12-15
IgroMir (Moscow, Russia) – Oct. 4-7
Paris Games Week (Paris, France) – Oct. 30-Nov. 3
Each of the five who succeed during the in person qualifiers will net themselves a $2,000 each. As if that wasn’t enough, even if they don’t win, CD Projekt RED may ask the finalists to become official Cyberpunk 2077 cosplayers, and attend conventions and events for the company worldwide, just like the excellent Maul Cosplay has done for the past few years.
If you’re interested, CD Projekt RED says you’re free to recreate any character that’s already been shown in official material, which means posters, trailers, and gameplay demos. The studio also promises to put out full guides for certain characters soon, so those of you that are really serious can get a good look at what you’ll need to replicate your chosen look.
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Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.