Cyberpunk 2077 To Feature Translation as an In-game Element?

Going from a translated tidbit from a Polish interview on Reddit, CD Projekt is considering the idea of making translation an actual in-game element of Cyberpunk 2077, with characters speaking exclusively in their language and the player requiring a translator implant to understand them.

It doesn’t seem to be set in stone for now, but it will be interesting to see if and how this idea will interact with localization:

As of yet no decisions have been made, but we’re thinking about a system that could tell the world’s story. The idea is to record everything in original languages, i.e. if we’ll meet Mexicans in the game, they’ll be taking — Mexican slang even, portrayed by Mexican actors. The player would be able to buy a translator implant, and depending on how advanced it is, he’ll get better or worse translation.

You can’t reliably recreate street slang of Los Angeles or some other American city, you can’t simply dub it and reproduce those emotions, rhythm of speech, mannerisms. Everything has to be cohesive. Otherwise we’d simply hear that Polish actors are trying to imitate Americans. That won’t work.

Thanks, PC Gamer.