CD Projekt Red’s (CDPR) highly anticipated new roleplaying game Cyberpunk 2077 is having a bit of a rough release, and now you can add potential copyright issues while streaming to its list of launch-day hiccups. The developer says until it has a fix ready, any potential Twitch streamers should turn off all in-game music to avoid any strikes on their channel.
The developer first warned potential streamers on Wednesday, before Cyberpunk 2077 officially launched in all regions, that a certain song (CDPR didn’t say which one) during the game’s “Braindance” sequences might trigger a Digital Millennium Copyright Act strike. That’s even if you’re using the specific in-game setting designed to toggle off copyrighted music for this exact reason.
It has come to our attention that there are additional instances in the game which might put a DMCA strike on your channel. Fix is on the way but until then, we’d like to ask you to mute music in the game’s settings entirely. We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused. https://t.co/SS0yhyPrMo
— Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) December 10, 2020
Braindance is a kind of memory replay in the world of Cyberpunk 2077. It appears the two sequences you play through as part of the main story feature both a copyrighted song and also some kind of bug that prevents that song from getting toggled off with the in-game setting option. CDPR advised simply turning sound off during the Braindance portions of the game to avoid receiving a DMCA strike on your channel.
But now CDPR says that the issue may be larger than it first realized, and it’s now advising streamers turn off in-game music entirely due to “additional instances in the game which might put a DMCA strike on your channel.” CDPR says a fix is on the way, but it’s not an ideal situation to have to disable all music (both copyrighted and original tracks) when streaming the game just to avoid tripping the automated detection systems that protect copyrighted works.
Hopefully the developer releases a patch soon to remedy the issue because without it, any Twitch streams of Cyberpunk 2077 are going to be awfully quiet for the near future.
