Unreal developer and Gears of War creator Cliff ‘Cliffy B’ Bleszinski revealed that Xbox has spent years ignoring his calls to return as a consultant on the blockbuster action franchise.
Bleszinski left original series developer Epic Games in 2012, two years before Microsoft bought the Gears of War series and moved it to its first-party studio The Coalition. Since then, two games in the series have been created: Gears of War 4 and the phenomenal Gears 5.
In the years since, Bleszinski has released two games: the underrated and sadly deceased Lawbreakers and the heinous Fortnite clone Radical Heights. Bleszinski then left games behind to work on new projects, including a published memoir and a comic book series titled Scrapper.
In a post on Twitter, Cliffy B revealed that he has been willing to return to the Gears of War series as a consultant for numerous years. However, Xbox has ignored his calls for him to “give his two cents”, claiming they would listen “if they were smart”.
The iconic game developer claimed that bringing him back to the Gears series “would be gold” from a PR standpoint. Bleszinski also confirmed that the series is “an ENORMOUS part of [his] legacy”.
Bleszinski told fans that his calls to return have been met with “crickets”, indicating that Xbox doesn’t wish to pay the Gears creator to steer the direction of the series.
“MS/Coalition haven't hit me up. Okay. It is what it is,” the developer said. “If they were smart, they'd enlist me for my input because, just from a PR standpoint alone, it would be gold. But nothing. Ah well. It is what it is. So be it."
Cliffy B finished his statement by telling fans that he’s finally moved on from the games industry, instead focusing on his work in the comics space. While it’s yet to be seen if Bleszinski’s work in comics will be a success, it is at least better than Radical Heights.
A new Gears of War game is in the works at The Coalition, following on from the ending of Gears 5. Planned for Xbox Series and PC, the game is expected to be yet another technical showcase for Unreal Engine, hopefully expanding on the last game’s stunning open ended gameplay.
If you’re in desperate need of more Gears, try out Gears of War: Hivebusters, an underrated standalone DLC for Gears 5.