Cyberpunk 2 Director Igor Sarzhynskyi stated:
Would extending Act 1 (events before the heist) have made the game better? No, it wouldn't. It's like spending more time on Tatooine with farmer Luke before he gets involved in Jedi business.
He noted that Jackie, although beloved by players, was not a key element of the long-term story of Night City.
CD Projekt always planned it this way. Is there enough time to bond with Jackie? For some players — yes, for some — no. Overall, we found a good balance.
The structure of the first act was a conscious design decision: the player receives measurable progress, and the full game begins after the key events. The developers could have expanded the prologue, but decided to keep the part with Jackie as an intense but short experience, an impulse for the plot rather than a full-fledged element of the entire story.