Cliff Bleszinski, the former design director for Epic Games, has never been afraid to burn a few bridges to get his point across. In a post on Twitter, theGears of Wardesigner let loose on the failure of his PS4 console exclusiveLawBreakersand why he probably didn’t make the wisest choice in going with Sony’s machine for the title.
Bleszinski mused that “when people follow your career from a beloved series such asGearson Xbox,” it would have made more sense to continue working with the crowd that supported him, referring to the fans of Microsoft’s Xbox One. He continued, “yes, it WAS a mistake puttingLawBreakerson Playstation over Xbox.”
RELATED:CliffyB Says One Reason LawBreakers Failed Was Because It Was Too Woke
LawBreakerswas the maiden title of development studio Boss Key Productions, formed by Bleszinski and fellow Epic Games alum, Arjan Brussee. Released in August 2017, the first-person shooter initially received strong critical praise for its team-based online play andLawbreakers’inventive level design, but was unable to sustain a large enough audience to keep the servers running.
LawBreakerseventually went free-to-play on Steam before the game was shuttered for good in September 2018. Coupled with the failure of Boss Key’s sophomore effort,Radical Heights, the studio shut down earlier that same year after Brussee returned to Epic Games.
Bleszinski has since tried his hand at theatre production, investing in a play calledHadestown. The musical, based on Greek mythology, was a massive success on Broadway and won eight Tony Awards.Bleszinski is also working on a memoirabout his time in the games industry that he describes as the video game equivalent of Anthony Bourdain’sKitchen Confidential. Bleszinski recently stated that he wouldn’t be against returning toGears of Waras a consultant, saying that he had plenty of ideas that were “sitting on the cutting room floor." However, that decision ultimately rests with Microsoft and franchise developer The Coalition.
While there were plenty of factors forLawBreakersdemise, it honestly made sense to go with Sony’s platform since thePS4 has a larger basethan the Xbox One. The title didn’t fare well on the PC either so it’s unclear how much effect switching consoles would have had.
Goinghead-to-head withOverwatchwas likely the biggest reason the game didn’t succeed and the marketing forLawBreakersdidn’t do much to show players why they shouldn’t just stick with Blizzard’s shooter. It will be interesting to see how and when Bleszinski returns to video games. If that day comes, there is sure to be more than a few quotes to go with it.
