Gears Of War creator snubbed by Xbox over possible reboot-Adam Starkey-Entertainment – Metro

Does Gears Of War need a reboot? (Picture: Microsoft)

Gears Of War creator Cliff Bleszinski has said he’s ‘down to consult’ on the next instalment in the series, but so far he’s heard nothing from Microsoft or developer The Coalition.

Following the lukewarm reaction to Gears 5 in 2019, the Gears Of War franchise feels like it’s run out of momentum – with no word on a new sequel in years.

The series, originally created by Epic Games, started out in 2006 as one of the flagship titles for Microsoft’s Xbox 360. Its success, however, has dimmed with recent entries developed by The Coalition, who took the reins with 2016’s Gears Of War 4.

Cliff Bleszinski, who was the lead designer on the first three instalments, has now said Microsoft would be ‘smart’ to enlist his help on the series, but so far he’s heard nothing but ‘crickets’ regarding his offers.

‘We’ve been over this a million times RE: Gears,’ Bleszinski wrote in a statement on Twitter. ‘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 states he has ‘moved on’ from the franchise over the last few years, although Boss Key Productions, the studio he co-founded, was shut down in May 2018 after the commercial failure of LawBreakers and Radical Heights.

‘Boss Key didn’t work out, fine, s*** happens,’ he added, explaining that he’s since worked on Broadway, comics, stand-up comedy, and written a memoir.

‘As much as I appreciate your support and those who know me from my Gears work (I did do a lot more than that game series, for the record) it’s time to move on. I’m on a new journey. I have been for some time now,’ Bleszinski concluded.

Since Gears 5, the franchise has been kept alive with turn-based strategy spin-off Gears Tactics and a planned film adaptation at Netflix. Last month, it was rumoured a Gears Of War collection was being ‘internally tested’ at The Coalition, but there’s been no official confirmation of that.

It’s also rumoured that The Coalition is working on the sixth mainline instalment in the series, but likewise there’s been no official announcement.

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Bleszinski appears to recognise the series isn’t quite the juggernaut it once was. Last year in an interview with Comicbook.com, he suggested the game series should be rebooted in a similar vein to 2018’s God Of War.

‘I believe [Gears Of War] needs a little bit of a reboot, like God Of War had,’ he said. ‘And I’ve always said, [Xbox boss] Phil Spencer has my number, I’m happy to consult. Gears will always be near and dear to my heart.’

Ironically, Gears 5 already borrows heavily from the God Of War reboot, in terms of its structure and semi-open world environments, but Bleszinski may have meant simply a reboot that was significantly different to its predecessors.

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