Is an English degree really required for Cinematic Development in games?

Nobody cares which degree you have but rather how you demonstrate/prove your skills.

Common wisdom is that there is exactly one job for which an English degree is useful: English professor. That's probably not quite true, but it's also not too far removed from the truth. Most successful authors don't have English degrees, and most of those who do don't credit their degree with teaching them anything useful.

The important question isn't what looks better on your resume but which path is going to teach you the skills you need. And the answer is probably neither one. An English degree isn't going to teach you how to write. A game development degree also isn't going to teach you how to write. Writing (and getting feedback on what you've written, and actually using that feedback to improve your skills) is going to teach you how to write.

If you really want to write for games, than just start writing. If you asked this question and you don't have any past writing, I'm wondering why not?

Cinematic development is usually only seen in big budget AAA titles, so the question your really asking is “ how do I get a job as a part of the cinematic team in a AAA studio?”

I'm not sure, but from what I heard, narrative designers do that.