The Secrets Behind THAT Cyberpunk 2077 Montage

TL;DR

Cyberpunk 2077's real-time opening montage works by teleporting V across a hidden back-lot set with pre-loaded NPCs and mirror-room tricks.

Key Points

• 1.The montage runs entirely in-engine, not pre-rendered. The 1 minute 20 second sequence features 15 location changes, 79 cuts, and ~45 unique NPCs all rendered in real time — unlike games such as Expedition 33 which use pre-rendered video for complex cutscenes.
• 2.CD Projekt Red built a secret back-lot, not the real Night City. All locations — Japantown street, Mama Welles's house, the nightclub, car dealership, and more — are cramped mini-sets stacked on top of each other in a hidden corner of the world map, minimising streaming load.
• 3.Aggressive optimisation keeps the sequence lean and believable. Low-poly models, stripped-out side rooms, smoke particle effects hiding empty streets, and only four actual NPCs in the 'bustling' opening shot create the illusion of a living city without the asset cost.
• 4.Mirror scenes use a duplicate room trick, not actual reflections. Each mirror is a transparent window into an identical copied room; a second V and Jackie exist on the other side, and Jackie teleports from the mirror room to the real room mid-animation — the same technique used in Super Mario 64.
• 5.The launch version was notoriously broken but is now largely fixed. On PS4 and Xbox One the sequence suffered pop-in, invisible Jackie, wrong lighting, and low-res textures; patches have resolved most issues by 2026, though a coat rendering in front of smoke and unflipped mirror posters remain.