Cyberpunk Wiki

A science fiction genre. Basic themes include the dehumanizing effects of technology, and the accompanying societal breakdown. Think dark and dirty, with lots of wires and neon.

Cyberpunk is a postmodern dystopian genre noted for its focus on ”high tech and low life". The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by American science fiction author Bruce Bethke as the title of his short Sci-Fi story Cyberpunk, written in 1980.

Cyberpunk can cover numerous themes and motifs but generally involve reflecting on the current anxieties of society and amping them up to an extreme; things like mass surveillance, corporate monopolization, climate change, mass media, artificial intelligence and any other themes can thus be accomodated by a cyberpunk setting.

For the series which the genre is named after, see Cyberpunk (series).