The more I think about it, the more I genuinely can’t believe that this collab is real. This moment in the film is heartbreaking. It’s a commentary on the dystopian commodification of human connection and social isolation under late-stage capitalism. In a world so dehumanized, even companionship and connection are just more products to be sold. LADS is lowkey the exact kind of thing being criticized. That’s why I’m baffled this actually happened. It’s the kinda collab that makes sense on paper, since Blade Runner is one of the most iconic sci-fi IP’s of all time, and LADS is a massively successful sci-fi game. From a brand perspective, both have a lot to gain from this. But if anyone stopped to think about the deeper implications of this beyond the profit for more than five minutes, this collab makes no sense for either brand to choose to be a part of. Like bc of this, it exposes the cruel irony that even Blade Runner as an IP has fallen victim to its own commentary. A franchise that criticized the commodification of human nature and the isolating & dehumanizing force of capitalism has become just another avatar in service of it. PPG is almost cruelly exposing the grift behind their own product. They are Wallace, the LI’s are Joi. They removed Valko just like Joi was erased. They’ve set themselves up as the villain in their own collaboration here. I’ve thought about the parallels between the two before (as well as the movie HER). I have used this exact moment from the movie as a way to keep my own parasocialism in check & remind myself that none of the LI’s are real, they’re just products designed to create emotional attachments in players. While I play LADS for the story, the whole Valko situation made me realize how many people use the game as a replacement for actual human companionship. This makes the predatory nature of capitalism & the products like LADS that exploit it, feel that much more predatory given the current sociopolitical state of the world. People also have been complaining lately about the objectification of the LI’s to increase their commercial value in the wake of Valko’s cancellation, but to me, this collab feels like the ultimate apotheosis of that. Sex sells, but so does meta-dystopian disillusionment, apparently. Even critique of capitalism becomes another product of it. Having this scene in particular be the photo op makes sense since it’s arguably one of the most iconic moments from the film, and it’s exploring the relationship between the real and unreal & what it means to be human. But to me, it comes off as highlighting the unreality & commercialization of our connection as players to the LI’s. It’s beautiful & disgusting. I get that the promo’s intent is to reject the idea that the LI’s love is artificial, because the love we feel as players is real. It’s a meta reversal of the original conclusion from the movie. And since fans of both have drawn parallels before, it makes sense for PPG to want to lean into & capitalize on it. But post-Valko, we are K. We’ve felt the exact kind of disillusionment that he does in this scene. The magic is gone & the artificial nature of our love stares back at us through the black mirror. Our connection to the story & the LI’s was real to us because we made it real. But it was never actually real because they’re just bits of binary code in a machine written, reviewed, & approved by dozens of people with the intention of maximizing profit. The meta implications of this are crazy. I love it. I hate it. I think it’s beautiful. I think it’s horrifying. It makes no sense, but it makes complete sense. There’s a full academic paper’s worth of irony and meta-commentary going on here, intentional and otherwise. I’ve dreamed of a collab like this, but the reality of it is heartbreaking given the current context. Valko is Joi and we are K. How incredibly bleak. #LADSis6 #ladsxbladerunner2049