Certain capabilities of the CDPR engine were simply left untapped by the development team.
In the world of game design, developers often find inventive ways to mask the loading of new environments. Instead of a traditional loading bar, these transitions are woven into the gameplay: a character might squeeze through a narrow crevice, wait for a heavy security door to cycle, or travel in an opaque elevator.
Within the Cyberpunk 2077 community, a long-standing theory suggested that CD Projekt RED utilized these elevators specifically to hide background asset loading. However, a lead developer recently stepped forward to debunk this myth.
Igor Sarzyński, the Creative Director for the Cyberpunk sequel, clarified that the decision to use windowless elevators was purely an aesthetic choice rather than a technical workaround. He emphasized that the engine was fully capable of rendering transparent elevators if the creative vision had required them:
“No, the elevators in Cyberpunk aren’t ‘hidden loading screens.’ It’s hard to believe anyone thinks we can render a seamless city and massive interior complexes without interruptions, yet somehow need a trick to load a single penthouse. Opaque elevators are placed where they are simply because it makes logical sense. We could have made them transparent if we wanted to. This engine is a marvel, and I won’t have it slandered.”
Source: iXBT.games