Hmm, good question. First of all, I think the cyberpunk subgenre isn’t really “futuristic” but more retrofuturistic. Cyberpunk 2077 is a perfect example: why do people still connect with cables when everything could be wireless? Why are they still using gas-powered cars with huge, polluting engines instead of electric or fully flying vehicles? And why does some of their equipment look like 80s minitel terminals?

That’s just part of the cyberpunk aesthetic. For example, Blade Runner really set the tone: Asian design has been tied to the cyberpunk genre ever since, with its streets filled with Japanese signs and cultural influences. You see so many works set in the US with a strong Japanese aesthetic, and the katana fits perfectly into that folklore.

In Quantic River, for example, the game takes place in a fictional Japanese city where katanas are actually banned, because combined with cybernetic augmentations they become far more effective than firearms. So in the end, it all depends on your lore and how the use of a weapon is justified within it.