No, Cyberpunk 2077's elevators aren't just loading screens in disguise, says lead: "The engine is a miracle. I will not accept slander."

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The director of Cyberpunk 2 wants to make sure we know how good Red Engine is

Cyberpunk 2077
(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

A persistent belief about Cyberpunk 2077 is that the elevators help mask loading times, a common trick in game development. Not actually the case, apparently, as a prominent developer at CD Projekt Red has made very clear.

The creative director for Cyberpunk 2 and the cinematic director on Cyberpunk 2077, Igor Sarzynski, spoke about the rumor on Bluesky. "You really think you can traverse [the] whole city and enter a huge complex interior with no loading screens but we need to do elevator tricks to load a penthouse?" he says.

mini rant: no, elevators in cyberpunk are not 'cleverly concealed loading screens'. you really think you can traverse whole city and enter a huge complex interior with no loading screens but we need to do elevator tricks to load a penthouse?

— @srznsk.bsky.social (@srznsk.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-12-22T16:18:03.002Z

The Red Engine is definitely impressive when you see just how much can happen at once in 2077. Amid all the neon and NPCs and technological wonders, you're moving freely from location to location with rarely even a need to pause. It's quite remarkable.

As much does bring into question the assertion that the elevators, of all things, were allowing the game to catch its breath. But it speaks to our conditioning, since many blockbuster games, from Mass Effect to God of War, have employed transitional spaces, whether they're caves or moving platforms, to load out the gameworld.

I know I definitely just figure that's what's going on with these things most of the time now. The next time I play Cyberpunk 2077, I'll be even more impressed. Flaws and all, at least CD Projekt Red bucked the stereotype of using a lift for loading. Johnny Silverhand would be proud.

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Anthony McGlynn
Anthony McGlynn
Contributing Writer

Anthony is an Irish entertainment and games journalist, now based in Glasgow. He previously served as Senior Anime Writer at Dexerto and News Editor at The Digital Fix, on top of providing work for Variety, IGN, Den of Geek, PC Gamer, and many more. Besides Studio Ghibli, horror movies, and The Muppets, he enjoys action-RPGs, heavy metal, and pro-wrestling. He interviewed Animal once, not that he won’t stop going on about it or anything.

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