Hello!

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2021/12/04/cyberpunk-2077-director-explains-why-you-cant-play-all-those-missions-with-jackie/?sh=4442297a581d

Came across this article today regarding the montage you get with Jackie after your life path. The article is dated December 4th. It says the montage itself was not cut content. I didn't know folks actually thought this was cut content, but it looks like the staff has been getting questions on why you can't play out that particular portion of the game. Having those missions summarized in a clip was the plan from the get-go.

I personally don't see it really adding anything to the game or story. Jackie dies - so if you did have to play those missions, the time you spent doing them would just go out the window. Here's the portion of the article that addresses the issue:

“From my perspective if we spent those six months here with Jackie, from the screenplay structure point of view…it would be stretching it for super long and then here the actual action starts. And it starts at the end of the heist when you get the chip with Johnny Silverhand in your head. Expanding the game on this part…just like doing gigs with Jackie around the city, sure it’s cool, but it’s just open world formula with a particular goal for the character or conflict, and just like this guy trying to earn some money, but there’s no real tension to it. Once you start dying and the cyberterrorist from the past is in your head, that’s where the tension arises.”

The quote is from the director of the game.

I think once a rumor is out, people will speculate that every little thing relates to that. It's kinda inevitable, in the contemporary gaming community.

I agree, it was best for the flow of things, but it would have been nice to at least experience one or two short sequences from the montage to help create an early image of what LIVING in Night City is like, rather than just pushing the player into the story all the time.

Thing is that choosing a life path and doing that first mission is a joke and has no real impact on the game.
I think it would be better if they'd do it the other way round. Just introduce the "life path" in a short montage as it doesn't change anything anyway and then do a tutorial where you would do a couple of gigs with Jackie.
Instead of doing a virtual combat training we would have this as real mission, introduction to a Night City and forming a bond with Jackie.
People wanted to do stuff with Jackie since the trailer announcement. I think that way people would be more happy.

Instead now we have a lot of complaints that the Life Paths are shit and the six months with Jackie is a cut content.