Cyberpunk 2077 Mural Violates Law in São Paulo

Toward the tail end of last year, Brazilian production company NaLata emblazoned a mural-size recreation of Cyberpunk 2077‘s cover art on two blind gables of the São Bento condominium building, in São Paulo, Brazil. Since, NaLata has been fined approximately 410,000 Brazilian real or 75,000 USD by the city in response, with the mural being removed as of January 12, 2021.

The beginning stages of the mural’s creation took place in November 2020. At that time, NaLata had paid the condominium’s owner in two installments of 10,000 real for use of the walls for an art project. The city of São Paulo is known for impressive and varied urban art, including on a large scale. However, the Cyberpunk 2077 mural was ultimately deemed an ad and thus a violation of São Paulo’s “Clean City Law.”

This law essentially states that the use of outdoor surfaces such as the walls of a condo building, for large advertisements, is prohibited. At the time of writing, a previous 11-story mural also created by NaLata has also been removed. This mural was commissioned by Free Fire publisher Garena in September 2020 and can be seen above.

Neither CD Projekt Red nor Warner Bros. (responsible for Cyberpunk 2077‘s distribution in Brazil) responded to requests for comment from START, one of the early sources of reporting on the mural from Brazil. TechRaptor has also contacted CD Projekt Red for comment, though no update has yet emerged.

Ultimately, the removal of this mural whether co-signed (so to speak) by CD Projekt Red or not, comes across as relatively small potatoes next to the myriad of issues that have riddled Cyberpunk 2077‘s development and release. However, it does add a new layer to the legal quandaries that CD Projekt Red itself is facing elsewhere. One wonders if the magnitude of CDPR’s platform and the magnitude of its foibles in releasing the game contributed to the mural’s swift removal.