Original Gears of War designer Cliff ‘CliffyB’ Bleszinski has seemingly thrown his hat in the ring to return as a consultant on the series for the last time, saying Microsoft would take him up on the offer “if they were smart.” Bleszinski has been vocal about wanting to return to GoW in some capacity for quite some time, although it looks like Microsoft has left him on read.
Bleszinski is heralded as the creator, or at least the driving force, behind the Gears of War series. He was the lead game designer on the first three games in the series, and a key player in the core ideas that still underpin each of the gruesome co-op games today.
In recent years Bleszinski has also been asking Microsoft to let him get involved in the series, but he’s been getting nowhere. Now, it looks like he’s finally giving up hope.
“Look, we’ve been over this a million times re: Gears,” Bleszinski begins. “I’m down to consult. Give my two cents. Crickets.
“I understand that Gears will always be an enormous part of my legacy. I appreciate and respect that. That said. Microsoft/Coalition haven’t hit me up. OK. It is what it is. 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.”
Bleszinski has been pining to get involved with the Gears of War games again for a while, telling Microsoft “You have my number” and even dropping a cheeky tease for Gears of War 6 as well. Since Gears of War 3, Bleszinski has been on other projects, like short-lived multiplayer shooter LawBreakers, theater productions, comics, and a whole lot more.
That said, he’s right. If, 13 years after Gears of War 3, the next trailer for Gears of War dropped with a ‘CliffyB’ name card, it would only be good for marketing. I understand that Microsoft and The Coalition might have already laid out all of its plans, but getting the original lead designer on board, when he so desperately wants it, feels like a good move.
Nobody has to though, and despite his public asking, it looks like Microsoft isn’t interested in working with Bleszinski on Gears… like, at all. Bleszinski even said recently that he pitched a Palworld-style game to Epic when he was there, but that it didn’t happen.
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