What's the difference between Sci-Fi and Cyberpunk?

[Nino_Chaosdrache]

With the current Steam Cyberpunk sale I'm a bit confused where the difference between Cyberpunk and normal Sci-Fi is. From what I read my understanding from sci-fi and Cyberpunk was that normal sci-fi means the world is in peace and there are no conflicts on it like in Star Trek for example or in Mass Effect, while Cyberpunk descripes a dystopion world which is controlled by evil corporation.

I see how this definition fits to Deus Ex Human Revolution and Mirror's Edge, but why is Crysis on the list? It's neither set in a dark future nor does it have any evil corporation controling the world before Crysis 3. Or why is Blood Dragon there? I have to admit I never played Blood Dragon, but the description doesn't say anything about corporations or a dystopian future. For me, this games are normal sci-fi games and I don't understand why they are treated as Cyberpunk in this sale. And if a dark and grim future is the only requirement for a game to be Cyberpunk then why aren't any of the Warhammer 40k games on the list?

[Zenexras of Blackwick]

Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a future setting, noted for its focus on "high tech and low life". It features advanced science, such as information technology and cybernetics, coupled with a degree of breakdown or radical change in the social order
Wikipedia

[jpcerutti]

Like all rosin is resin but not all resin is rosin.

Cyberpunk is a subset of Sci-Fi. What category something fits into, especially sub-genres, is pretty opinionated and open to argument... or whatever the guy who is compiling the list for Steam sales decides.

[Ishan451]

Originally posted by Nino_Chaosdrache:

With the current Steam Cyberpunk sale I'm a bit confused where the difference between Cyberpunk and normal Sci-Fi is.

As it was already stated Cyberpunk is a subgenre of Science Fiction. It focuses mostly about two elements Cybernetics and Punk subculture. Punk Subculture is usually defined, leaving political views aside, as being about individual freedom and anti establishment. As such Cyberpunk commonly features Mega-Corporations, Supercomputer, Man and Machine (Much like its twin brother Biopunk, where the whole transhuman element is based on biology in Cyberpunk its usually archived with cold, hard metal) and people fighting against the established norm for their individual freedom.

Examples of the Cyberpunk genre would be the Running Man, Snake Plissken Movies, Johnny Mnemonic, Ghost in the Shell and Bladerunner. In general Cyberpunk either deals with Themes of Corrupt Political Systems, sometimes Megacooperation's that have totalitarian power over their workforces, leaving everyone outside the system pretty much fighting for the scraps under the table, or alternatively Cyberpunk deals with questions such 'what does humanity mean', usually in a dystopian future setting, where artificial androids, robots or cyborgs exist and usually have to either fight for their own freedom or their right to exist.

You could for example classify the Bicentennial Man, I Robot or AI as Cyberpunk, although i'll admit the lines of the first two are a little more blurred, as their Punk element is quite toned down. But Bladerunner for example features quite a lot of the "Can Robots be humans" themes with a very much punk setting. But even though Bicentennial Man isn't Punk in an obvious manner, it is also a story about someone fighting against the established system for their individual freedom and their right to exist as individual.


Cyberpunk, by the way, doesn't necessarily need to be a dystopian world, although its most commonly utilized in that setting, because... it makes the punks seem much more justified when they rebel against a corrupt system, than having them rebel just because they don't like the Status Quo. Again, Bicentennial Man is a good example of that, because its not a dystopian future.

Much in the same way most people associate futuristic settings with Science Fiction, while completely disregarding that something like the Time machine or Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is also science fiction.

Edit:
Oh and 'Futuristic' doesn't necessarily mean Science Fiction. Take Star Wars for example. That is a Fairy Tale, not Science Fiction.