70°

Cliff Bleszinski Talks Life After Epic Games, Ideas For A New Studio

G4;Former Epic Games Design Director Cliff Bleszinski left Epic this past October, rocking the gaming world and leaving behind the studio he'd been with since he was 17 years old. Since then it's been traveling the world, wearing bathrobes until noon and little else. But he's starting to get the old itch, taking meetings and tossing around the idea of starting a new studio.

NYC_Gamer4152d ago

I wanna see him branch out and do something very different from Gears

WrAiTh Sp3cTr34152d ago

So his next game is called Silver Streak?

BlackIceJoe4152d ago

I think it would be pretty interesting to see his spin on a turn base RPG. So I can't wait to see what he does next.

poo3429472947924152d ago

I want him to have my luv child

Lvl_up_gamer4152d ago

I would love to see a gears of war RTS game but since Cliff is no longer with EPIC, I would like to see some really well done Sci-Fi RTS on consoles with a very deep storyline and characters we can all relate too and care about.

Ben_Grimm4152d ago

Something tells me that MS might really be trying to buy Epic.
You usually see key figures leave a company when a) the company is doing bad or b) the company is about to be bought out.

So far two higher ups have left Epic, we'll see.

porkChop4152d ago

Epic has seen 6 big departures in the last 4 or 5 months.

1) Rod Fergusson (Director of Production) left in August.
2) Adrian Chmielarz (Creative Director at PCF) left in August.
3) Andrzej Poznanski (top artist at PCF) left in August.
4) Michal Kosieradzki (top artist at PCF) left in August.
5) Cliff Bleszinski (Design Director) left in October.
6) Mike Capps (President) left just last week.

Something is definitely going on over at Epic. Maybe Microsoft is attempting a hostile takeover?

Ben_Grimm4152d ago

Oh wow, I just read about the President and of course Cliff. Didn't know about the others, thanks for the info.

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100°

New Shark Tank Inspired Wolves’ Den Game Contest With Spatial, Youtube, and Gaming Legends

Rapper/Actor Ice-T, and YouTube, Gaming Legends, Cliff Bleszinski, Welyn, And Barji To Judge First ‘Wolves Den’ Game Jam Series On Spatial Platform

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terminalgamer.com
N4GTG47d ago

This could be great for some indie developers

280°

Gears of War Creator CliffyB Offers His Thoughts on Xbox Exclusives Going Multiplatform

During a recent Game Rant interview, Gears of War creator CliffyB comments on Xbox-exclusive games possibly adopting multiplatform models.

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gamerant.com
S2Killinit48d ago

Im sure he would love it. More money for him.

OtterX48d ago

Yea, I remember seeing him and his Lamborghini at one point in history. Lol, I think that kind of gives it away.

rippermcrip48d ago

Doubtful he gets any residuals from anything Gears related.

rippermcrip47d ago

Bunch of clowns down voting without any explanation of how exactly he is getting money off Gears. You think Notch still gets Minecraft money too?

jznrpg47d ago (Edited 47d ago )

Depends on the contract. Some contracts have residuals some don’t

Whitey2k48d ago

Sometimes I don't get what he says half the times. He could of put gears on the playstation from the start but he's fanboyness for xbox got in the way

Notellin48d ago

I imagine this is exactly how fanboys feel how this went down. Microsoft paid for all the development and took all the risk off Epic games for a new IP.

It has nothing to do with anyone being a fanboy. Well other than yourself who oversimplified this entire franchises history.

LoveSpuds48d ago

I agree Notellin, however, once he was in bed with MS he did become pretty 'anti Sony' ans was such a shill for MS.

Hofstaderman48d ago

This. And Sony also does this with titles these days.

shinoff218347d ago

I thought it was said cliffs shopped it around hence rumors of a ps3 demo being out there. If ms took on all the cost, why is there a ps3 demo?

Rude-ro47d ago

Not true at all.
Microsoft had to buy the ip because the contract ran out on keeping it exclusive.
Microsoft took no risk, they just marketed the game and payed for a contract.
Not hard to find out.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 47d ago
Ironmike48d ago (Edited 48d ago )

Your the the fanboy

Sciurus_vulgaris48d ago

No, Epic signed a development and publishing contract with Xbox for Gears of War. After Judgement Microsoft still had the Gears of War publishing rights. Epic then sold the Gears of War IP to Microsoft in 2014. Cliffy B never owned Gears of War, he was just a lead designer of the series.

rippermcrip47d ago

Ya I don't know what people are saying about CliffyB making money of Gears sales nowadays. He was never the owner and Epic no longer owns it either.

ChasterMies48d ago

“He could of put gears on the playstation from the start but he's fanboyness for xbox got in the way”

It has nothing to do with fondness for the Xbox platform. Microsoft paid for exclusivity.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 47d ago
Travesty48d ago (Edited 48d ago )

Well when you look at the sales perspective of ps5. It has a big audience selling over a 2 to 1 ratio. It makes money sense.
Fanboy era was at its prime during the ps3-360 generation. It’s not as toxic as it once was, thankfully. People grow out of it eventually. I have my preference just as the next person. That being said it’s coming to be more about expanding availability instead of standing behind a brand. Much more Microsoft than Sony. But Sony will probably move up its time of PC release for increase revenue.
We will see, it’s just speculation.

Psychonaut8548d ago

CliffyB is like David Jaffe at this point, always quick with the opinions but haven’t made a successful game in over a decade at this point. Do any of us really care what they think about anything? I certainly don’t.

shinoff218347d ago

I never liked the guy tbh but he's got more relevance in gaming then we do.

Skuletor47d ago

CliffyB, I haven't heard that name since Lawbreakers flopped.

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390°

Sorry, CliffyB, But "Gears of War" Doesn’t Need A "God of War"- Style Reboot

Shaz from GL writes: “In an interview, Cliff Bleszinski says that he’d be interested in helping develop a Gears of War reboot akin to God of War. Unnecessary? I think so.”

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gameluster.com
Jin_Sakai173d ago

Regardless, Gears of War gameplay feels outdated this day and age.

spicelicka171d ago

I completely disagree. Outdated in what way? There is literally no other cover based TPS multiplayer game like it and the core gameplay is so good that people still play Gears 1 today. I can't think of any games that has shotgun battles like Gears. The real issue is that there is simply no new audience for it, because the learning curve is so steep. It just needs to market itself better and the work needs to be done on the campaign side. Better to just split up the single player and multiplayer as two different projects and releases.

Also, this who "reboot" discussion isn't considering the fact that God of war doesn't have multiplayer as a significant portion of the game. Single player only games have a lot more freedom to change. With Gears you have to consider that there's an entire community still playing every day, so you can't just change the core gameplay balance. On top of that they can't dedicate as many resources to single player as God of war, because the budget has to be split with multiplayer.

171d ago
Gamingsince1981171d ago

There is no other one like it because there is no demand for that style of game, kinda obvious really. If there was an interest in gears style games the market would be flooded with them.

lucian229171d ago

Gears of War 1 and 2 were bad combat wise.... Story wise too. I beat both of them because of the hype and gave up after that.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 171d ago
GamerRN171d ago

I agree. It needs done kind of overhaul, but I don't think a God of War style would suit this game.

I gotta be honest I don't know what it needs, but it needs something ... And 5 wasn't it

terrorofdeath171d ago

Maybe it's a reboot more in the sense of a more emotional storyline or something like God of War, and some small tweaks in terms of gameplay.

anast172d ago

They don't have the talent to do a GoW style reboot.

DOMination-171d ago

Do you have a genuine reason to come to that conclusion, other than it not being a PlayStation studio?

The Coalition probably have the best and most knowledge team on Unreal Engine 5 outside of Epic. I'd have thought if anyone "had the talent", it would be them.

Rude-ro171d ago

Because they did not do a fantastic job when they took over the ip.

In fact, the majority of ips under Microsoft shows complete signs of cheap development with bigger marketing budgets.

More make up on dated engines can work… but can not be mistaken for innovative.
No innovation equals no ability to push a franchise into anything new.
Take the “open world” introduction in the last gears…
Empty vast traveling areas to get to pre determined “random” encounter areas is a cheap developing approach.. not innovation to build any trust into.

kneon171d ago

Even if they were the best in the world at UE5 that would only mean that they might make a great looking game. It takes a lot more than that to make a great game.

anast171d ago

"Do you have a genuine reason to come to that conclusion, other than it not being a PlayStation studio?"

History and current output.

jznrpg106d ago

Look at the last 10 years and you have plenty of evidence

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 106d ago
rgraf77171d ago

God of War is overrated. Those boring boat rides talking and backtracking.

GamingManiac171d ago

Bruh, that made me laugh lol

anast171d ago

I'm not big on the game, but it isn't overrated.

Inverno172d ago

A reimagining that continues the lore, and story of established characters is absolutely a great way to continue a series that needs a refresh. I agree that any long standing franchise that has run it's course definitely needs a "God of War" style reboot, because GOW did it right. I might have my issues with the last two games but they did right by the series regardless.

Ra3030172d ago

There's no helping Gears of Woke. Microsoft killed this franchise when they forced the woke culture into the story.

itBourne171d ago

God of War did the same, just in a more subtle sly way.... They could of probably made a few cuts and bam, PG rated movie right there. God of Rainbows and Daisies.

itBourne171d ago

Dang, so many dislikes lol, willing to elaborate, just didnt want to throw out a bunch of spoilers. If anyone wants to discuss as to why, im always open to discussions. Just shoot me a DM.

343_Guilty_Spark171d ago (Edited 171d ago )

How is it woke? Because the lead is a female?

Is Horizon woke also?

CantThinkOfAUsername171d ago

It is, but not due to the gender of its protagonist.

zeuanimals171d ago

There's no helping you. Anti-woke culture killed your brain when they force fed you the idea that diversity is the worst thing ever.

Ra3030171d ago

Lol....good to see that you agree as do I with the fact Microsoft went woke as Disney with the Gear franchise. Microsoft tried to save the franchise by taking the formula that was working with the strong Bro leads and going to the woke weakass female formula that no one cared about.

Binarycode171d ago

Diversity isn't a strength. Look at the world. That's the reason it's in the state it is.

Gamingsince1981171d ago

Forced diversity is the reason people don't like diversity, you should just hire who is best for what, not have to tick boxes first then worry about talent next.

zeuanimals171d ago (Edited 171d ago )

@ra3030

Every company has gone woke, even successful ones. Those don't fit your narrative though. Yeah no, the only two things Microsoft and Disney have in common is that they're woke /s

Totally not that they're risk averse companies that don't wanna innovate in fear of it being a waste of time. They've got bottomless pockets and limited time. So they spend their time trying to crack codes, find patterns, create money making templates out of whatever property they're working on. It needs to be as mass produceable as possible. Disney and Microsoft, bringing sweat shop factory made quality to gaming storefronts and theaters near you.

zeuanimals171d ago

@binary

Right because the world was so much better segregated... and there's a million other reasons I'd put ahead of diversity as to why the world is the way it is, but way to show how much diversity is on your brain by how dangerous you think it is. It's literally the cause of everything to you.

@gaming

Actually forced diversity is the only reason people like diversity. If you don't force people to do it, they won't do it. The only people who end up liking it due to having met new people with different perspectives only ever got to because they were kind of forced to. That's literally part of the reason diversity is being advocated for, because it promotes innovation. Having dozens of people with too similar of viewpoints can lead them to being too likeminded and unable to think of different solutions, or even different problems that weren't even recognized. There's more than one way to be a useful hire, and having a genuinely unique perspective is one of them.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 171d ago
+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 171d ago
Crows90172d ago

I thought they were doing a soft reboot with gears4 but then it turned out to be the exact same as all the others.

A more horror oriented and tight corridor renewal would work for that franchise....also...why they got guns? They're alien like...they should have other types of weapons entirely.

OMNlPOTENT171d ago

dang why do most of the different species in god of war use swords, axes, and bows? They should have other types of weapons entirely.

Crows90171d ago (Edited 171d ago )

They don't... Okay you obviously haven't played god of war. What a way of owning yourself man! Lol

The draugr are pretty much the only ones...and besides we're comparing established mythology with made up bug aliens

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