Gears of Warhas changed quite a bit since the series first premiered back in 2006. It used to be one of the best-selling exclusives on the Xbox 360, and was well-known for its brutal atmosphere, macho heroes, andchainsaw assault rifles.
Fast-forward to 2020, andthe third-person shooter franchise isn’t nearly as popular as it used to be. Some people may chalk that up to the change in developers or market preferences, but series creator Cliff Bleszinski thinks he knows the real reasonGears of Warisn’t what it used to be: it’s too “woke” now.
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Following formerGears of Warstudio head Rod Fergusson’s move to Blizzard, CliffyB offered Microsoft to consult on theGearsfranchise, saying that a lot of his and former Epic Games lead designer Lee Perry’s unused ideas were left “on the cutting room floor.” Another Twitter user by the name of Ordingandr quipped that CliffyB should be careful not to makeGearstoo “woke,” a reference to his earlier remark that “woke culture” was what ruinedLawBreakers, his and Boss Key Productions' attempt at a hero shooter game in the vein ofOverwatch. CliffyB responded that he can’t make it too “woke” because Microsoft and developer The Coalition already did.
Certainly, there are some fans who prefer the original 360 trilogy to the newerGearsgames The Coalition has developed. And thoughGears 5’s storywas a great addition to the series' history, there’s no denying that the new games just aren’t selling as well as they used to. But hasGears of Warreally become too “woke?” No, probably not. IfGears of Warisn’t as good as it used to be, it’s either because Epic Games stopped developing it or because the market has changed, or both.
Predictably, most people aren’t taking CliffyB too seriously, with one Twitter user going so far as to call him “a joke.” That may be a bit on the harsh side, but it does seem like he’s using “woke culture” as an excuse for things he doesn’t seem to understand. Maybe he just needs to explain himself, because apart fromGears 5’s female protagonist, there’s nothing that suggests the series is “woke.” Does he thinkGears Pop!is “woke?”
Or maybe CliffyB meansGears of Waris “too woke” in a good way. After all, he thought his most recent gameLawBreakerswas too “woke,” and that was somehow responsible for the game’s demise. He believes he tried too hard to matchOverwatch’s diversity when pushing his personal political beliefs into the game’s roster of characters. Instead of focusing on making a neat game, he described it as “the game with the ‘woke bro’ trying to push his hackey politics on us with gender neutral bathrooms.”
Gears 5is available on PC and Xbox One. A newGears of Wargame has not been announced.
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