Abstract

The cyberpunk genre dominates much of our popular culture, from how we think of cyber- and white-collar crime, to our understanding of how technology influences the criminal justice system. This article explores the common criminological themes prev- alent within the recent video game Cyberpunk 2077 as an example of popular crimi- nology. Specifically, it explores the game’s story and environment by examining key characters’ responses to structural inequalities through an anomie theory lens. Key characters and groups within the game exemplify Merton’s (1938) different responses to rampant poverty and socioeconomic inequality. This is then extended to the “cyberpsycho” problem within the game, incorporating General Strain Theory to dis- cuss why specific individuals develop the problem within Cyberpunk 2077.

Document Type

Article

Source Publication

Games & Culture

Version

Published Version

Publication Date

3-7-2023

First Page

1

Last Page

19

Rights

© The Author(s)

Comments

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