Gears of War creator CliffyB says series needs a God of War style reboot
"Phil Spencer has my number."
Cliff Bleszinski, the creator behind the Gears of War series, has suggested the games get a God of War-style reboot. Oh, and that Xbox just needs to give him a call.
Speaking with Comic Book about his upcoming comic Scrapper, conversation turned to the shooter series. Bleszinski said he could consult on any ideas Microsoft may have for the series, and suggested it could get a "little bit of a reboot, like God of War" had in 2018.
"I've always said, Phil Spencer has my number," he told the publication. "I'm happy to consult. Gears will always be near and dear to my heart."
The creator went on to reminisce about the series as a whole, stating he often likes to watch key Gears of War cutscenes on YouTube with a mimosa in hand.
"I've said this in other interviews, but I'm friends with Karen Gillan from Avengers, and Guardians of the Galaxy, and Doctor Who and all that, absolute sweetheart. We had lunch with her at GalaxyCon recently in Raleigh. And the thing is, there's a scene where, Doctor Who, Matt, and Karen take Vincent van Gogh to the Musée d'Orsay, through the TARDIS and time travel and whatnot," he said on somewhat of a tangent.
"Vincent van Gogh lived a tortured life. He believed his work was terrible. He struggled to sell a painting. And then for him to see his impact. And then Matt, the Doctor, grabs Bill Nighy, not the science guy, the British actor. Bill does this amazing monologue, and the actor who looks just like Vincent just starts losing it and the music starts swelling. Every time I watch that scene, man, I just get totally fucking misty-eyed because, yeah, I like money. Who doesn't? I like to eat prime rib steak and sushi sometimes, but you just want to know that your work makes [an impact]."
The developer recalled seeing people comment on various Gears of War cutscenes, where players recalled having to "put the controller down" as they sat stunned by the events that have just unfolded before them - and said that this had been incredibly important to him. He also said he felt this way when he hears about fans getting Gears of War tattoos.
"For people to actually get tattoos of something that you made on their bodies is the most flattering thing," he said.
When his interviewer commented that Gears of War 3 was the first game to make them cry, CliffyB replied: "That means a fucking lot to me, even though I'm wearing a shirt that says, 'I eat ass' in Japanese."
The developer went on to share his thoughts on the gaming industry today. While reflecting on what he called "the golden era" from around the time Gears of War 3 released, Bleszinski said it now feels like "everybody's trying to move to games as services".
"[Xbox head] Phil Spencer's trying to become the Netflix of video games with Game Pass. I get that, I respect it, but honestly, I'm not playing shit these days," the Gears of War creator said. "I am basically reading books and comic books."
As for the Gears of War series more generally, Netflix currently has plans for a live-action film adaptation. This project was first announced towards the end of last year, and since then Dune and Doctor Strange screenwriter Jon Spaihts has been brought on to handle the script.
Additionally, former WWE wrestler and Guardians of the Galaxy actor Dave Bautista really wants to play Marcus Fenix in the adaptation. Back in November, Bautista took to Twitter to share his eagerness for the role, stating he "can't make this any easier" for the producers before tagging both Netflix and the Gears of War social media handles.