Keanu Reeves to star in forthcoming video game 'Cyberpunk 2077'

The eagerly anticipated game will be released next April

Keanu Reeves presents the new game franchise 'Cyberpunk 2077' during the Microsoft Xbox briefing on June 9. EPA

Keanu Reeves, who is currently in cinemas with the latest installment of the John Wick franchise, is set to swap the big screen for the small with an appearance in CD Projekt Red's forthcoming video game Cyberpunk 2077.

The Matrix star appeared on stage at gaming event E3 in California last night to help launch the new trailer for the upcoming release. The game, which has been in development for several years, was also finally given a release date: April 16, 2020.

The game will launch on Xbox consoles, PlayStation consoles and PC. However, it's unknown whether any new consoles will be available by the time the game hits shelves.

We don’t yet know exactly what Reeves's role will be in the video game, but his likeness has been achieved digitally to astounding detail. It appears that his unnamed character will lend a helping hand to the game's protagonist, a mercenary known as V, although Reeves’s character appears to prefer to address him by the nickname Samurai. It does not appear as if Reeves's character will be playable.

This will be the 54-year-old's actor's first appearance in a video game since his likeness was achieved – innfar less detail – in games based on The Matrix films way back for the PlayStation 2.

Cyberpunk 2077 is set to be CD Projekt Red's most ambitious game to date; an open-world, action shooter role-playing game with heavy cinematic elements and a focus on player choices that have a deep impact on the story as it progresses. The game is based on a roleplaying board game, also called Cyberpunk, from the Eighties.

Fans of thumping breakbeats will also be pleased to hear that the trailer also comes with a theme tune from Kilowatt Records supremo DJ Hyper. Spoiler, from Hyper's 2015 album Lies, is a grungy mash-up of metal guitars and solid breaks that will keep toes tapping as players go about their business of causing carnage across the game's Night City location.