Very few creators are as passionate about their creations as the man, the myth, and the legend Cliff Bleszinski.
Over the years, CliffyB, has vocalized his intent on podcasts, social media, and interviews to help Xbox with Gears of War. Unfortunately, all this talk didn’t manifest in a positive way for him. It’s come to a point that the 48-year-old game designer, who now spends most of his days in theater and writing, had to come out with a statement and basically call out Xbox for not picking up the phone and dialing his number.
In a post on X, Bleszinski says that, after repeated attempts of reaching out to Xbox and The Coalition, it’s time for him and the fans calling for his return to move on. He asks audiences to support his new comic, Scrapper, instead, saying that it’s a personal passion project of his, just like Gears of War was.
A statement. pic.twitter.com/Hvpq9IsQW2
— Cliff Bleszinski (@therealcliffyb) January 27, 2024
It’s not unusual for creators of iconic video game franchises to break away from their creations after several entries due to personal reasons, creative differences, and/or both. Several other creatives had followed similar paths in the past, just like Hideo Kojima, who broke away from franchise and dropped Metal Gear after working on it for several decades, and David Jaffe, the creator of Twisted Metal and God of War, among others.
However, given that the market has proven the power of nostalgia in recent years, Microsoft could’ve at least brought Bleszinski on board as a consultant.
Then again, Microsoft might prefer to err on the side of caution. The internet, as they say, never forgets. Over a decade ago, Bleszinski was one of the most divisive figures online, especially within the Gears of War community and among PC gamers. Following the original Gears of War’s release in 2006 on both Xbox 360 and Windows PCs, Epic Games made its sequel, Gears of War 2, exclusive to Xbox 360 in 2008.
Bleszinski later defended this decision by implying the PC community, at the time, were a bunch of thieves who pirated games indiscriminately over supporting the developers by buying retail copies.
To be honest, Bleszinski wasn’t wrong. The PC gaming scene today is vastly different. Before Steam rose to prominence, piracy was a real problem. This is no longer the case. Pirating games, although still an issue, is no longer as prevalent. Most PC gamers won’t risk downloading a potentially malware-filled torrent file when they can buy, try, and refund a game at launch or when games frequently go on sale for half their usual retail price if not for less.
It remains unclear when we’ll hear more from The Coaliation about the next Gears of War game. All that’s confirmed is that a live-action adaptation is in the pipeline, which may or may not include Dave Bautista.
