Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski has offered further insight into the commercial failure of his studio's 2017 shooter, LawBreakers. In a recent interview with 80.lv, Bleszinski suggested that his own ego and a misguided belief in personal brand loyalty played a significant role in the game's demise.
Bleszinski, who co-founded Boss Key Productions, stated that he turned down an opportunity to work with Rod Fergusson, a collaborator from his time on Gears of War. "I wanted it to be my show, and that was the first step of my ego creeping in right there," Bleszinski explained. He believed that his name alone would draw players to the game, a notion he now recognizes as flawed. "I thought there was this brand loyalty from the people who knew who I was, but it turns out people are loyal to the game, but they're not necessarily loyal to the person."
He also pointed to the publishing deal Boss Key secured with Nexon, suggesting that its terms, which allowed Boss Key to retain IP rights, may have diminished Nexon's incentive to make LawBreakers a major success. "When the deal is so good for one side, the other side isn't as incentivized," Bleszinski recalled, adding that Nexon would not see significant profit from the game.
Bleszinski described the studio's downfall as "death by 1,000 paper cuts," citing several other contributing factors. These included LawBreakers' art style not standing out sufficiently, a delayed Xbox launch missing out on potential Gears of War fans, his own struggles with alcoholism, and a feeling of being less involved in the game's development than a lead designer should be.
Despite the setbacks and the eventual closure of Boss Key just a year after LawBreakers' release, Bleszinski expressed a continued desire to create games. "At the end of the day, I want to create characters and worlds," he said. "I want to make stuff that people will cosplay as and get tattooed on their bodies."