Why is it called COP BASTARD?
The developer picked the name in 2021 while watching Violent Cop and Hard Boiled. He wanted a protagonist who is “a bastard and a corrupt cop,” and the title says that plainly. The launch essay does not mention the political slogan people sometimes hear in the words.
Last verified: 2026-11-02.
The developer’s own timeline
On 30 October 2026 targim. posted a thank-you that is also the naming essay. In July 2019 a Word document listed eight game ideas. The third was “A Crazy Third-Person (First-Person) Action Game,” next to a Die Hard still of John McClane with an MP5, described as a straightforward action game in the style of John Woo.
In 2021, after Violent Cop (Takeshi Kitano) and a rewatch of Hard Boiled, he decided to merge those films: a Japanese setting and Hong Kong gunplay. He says the title was chosen to communicate the protagonist’s corruption and unpleasant character. This is the developer’s own account in one naming post.
What the title is not
The essay never frames the title as a protest slogan. I will not put words in his mouth beyond that absence. Players shorten the game to “Bastard Cop,” which is also the name of a separate 2018 film. Word order is the practical test: the game is COP BASTARD, the film is Bastard Cop, and they share no licence.
The Osaka setting and the cop-who-is-the-problem premise are the story hook. Plot specifics beyond the corrupt detective are on the story page, and they stay thin because the developer has not published a synopsis.
Questions
Is the name a political slogan?
The naming essay talks about Violent Cop, Hard Boiled, and a corrupt protagonist. It does not cite a slogan. I do not add a motive he did not write.
Is it based on the movie Bastard Cop?
No. That film is a separate vigilante movie. See Bastard Cop vs COP BASTARD.