cutscene

noun

cut·​scene ˈkət-ˌsēn 

variants or less commonly cut-scene or cut scene

plural cutscenes also cut-scenes or cut scenes

: a noninteractive video sequence that occurs between segments of a video game and depicts part of the game's background or storyline

Extra bits of story are delivered every two or three levels, each cutscene lasting just a few seconds and providing a further, fleeting glance at the bizarre roster of characters.

—Joe Martin

Excellent cinematic cutscenes are dotted throughout the game, with rebel communications and face-to-face talks giving you hints on your progress.

—Matthew Horan

Ninja Gaiden is also notable for being one of the first action games to have cutscenes between levels.

—Chris Reed

You won't encounter an explicitly relayed narrative—there are no cut-scenes or dialog text; instead, the story is uncovered through the game's lo-fi and maquette-like environments, each filled with sad, funny, and poignant details.

—Lewis Gordon

Examples of cutscene in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These are fine distractions, with some including new cutscenes, but the boss rematches are very frequently repeats of the battle from the previous main level, making things a bit repetitive if when playing every mission in the game. —Scott McRae, Rolling Stone, 24 Mar. 2025

Here in Act 2 of Episode 3, Heresy, Bungie has released one of its best cutscenes ever. —Paul Tassi, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2025

Later, it was revealed that Batman was a clone, and the character did return, but in an unvoiced cutscene. —Paul Tassi, Forbes, 13 Mar. 2025

Fixes an issue where character models can occasionally display incorrectly after using a Technique while triggering a cutscene dialogue, with the issue possibly persisting even after the dialogue ends. —Ross Rosenfeld, Newsweek, 26 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1992, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cutscene

• agin
• alkene
• allene
• ameen
• amin
• amine
• arene
• athene
• baleen
• beeline
• benzene
• between