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Cliffy B new Interview - possible return.

F

falconhoof

Gold Member
Long form article covering some pretty personal stuff, lots about his alcoholism, and then onto a possible return to creating.

80.lv

Cliff Bleszinski Knows What Went Wrong

In his first in-depth interview in years, Cliff Bleszinski divulges his deepest and most honest reflection on what exactly killed Boss Key. He discusses the publishing deal that was too favorable, the wrong console choice, and even the co-founder he turned down. And now, he's planning a comeback.
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"I was a functioning alcoholic," he said. "Then I became a non-functioning alcoholic."

But the post-failure haze of drinking, sleeping, reading, and avoiding video games that on and off marked the past eight years led to a moment of clarity in a hospital bed this spring. Now four months sober, Bleszinski finds himself once more drawn to creating, and his first love: video games.

"It's been a journey," he said. "I don't want to be that person where my defining aspect is my alcoholism. I want to be that well-known, hopefully loved, successful game designer who is a great husband who also happens to be an alcoholic."
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"I basically got to the point where I didn't have anything to get out of bed for," he said.

He spent those days reading, hanging out with Lauren, and drinking — lots of drinking.

"Eventually, my body was like 'F**k you,' and I realized this is me hitting a wall and it's time to give this up after 25 years of partying," he said.

On March 23, 2026, Bleszinski woke up in a hospital after suffering a seizure tied to his drinking and spent a week undergoing tests and recovering. In the days and months since, he gave up drinking, went to an outpatient treatment facility, started seeing a therapist, and focused on his health.
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"So maybe I'll eventually get my full foot back in the business and hopefully not get pushed into the pool," Bleszinski said.

He's coy about what a new game of his own might be, but he is clear it won't be in the PvP space.

"Good luck to anyone in that space," Bleszinski said. "I'm more of a fan of PvE these days. Horde mode saved Gears 2, and I believe that space is evergreen because players just want to hop online with friends and shoot some stuff, no frills, no questions asked.

"I'm nowhere near sharing anything specific (about a new game), beyond that, I can't walk into a Home Depot without seeing a full arsenal at every turn," he said. "There's so much more than just chainsaws."
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That Sucks The Office GIF
 
Maybe he is the right man for the job to get the Gears franchise back on track, after the underwhelming Gears 4 and 5.
Or maybe he'll just screw it up again, like he did with Law Breakers.
 
DBqQitoUwAA5X39.jpg


This dude is a joke. Just like all those other washed up game directors he "made" that one game 20 years ago and has been riding that high ever since.

[keep in mind that the success of a game depends on dozens, if not hundreds of talented people]
 
Glad to see Cliff is getting better and overcoming alcohol, I also had my my lows with it across my life.

Regarding game development, I'd think he could do a Helldivers type of game. I would love to see him go back to Gears but this is far beyond him at this point and stage in life and I have learned to accept that, just like many others should
 
Well I remember the guy owned a bar after leaving Epic, so that was probably foreshadowing looking back. Good that he's doing something to fix the addiction issue though, had an uncle who ended up passing, and his health problems were rooted in drinking all the time.

I liked some of the mechanics in Lawbreakers, especially since it was rooted in arena shooter design going back to Unreal Tournament...but if he's gonna do something co-op based I hope it's not a live-service.

I'd rather have something along the lines of what Deep Rock Galactic did, or just a shooter with a finite story campaign you can play in co-op.
 
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SJRB said:
DBqQitoUwAA5X39.jpg


This dude is a joke. Just like all those other washed up game directors he "made" that one game 20 years ago and has been riding that high ever since.

[keep in mind that the success of a game depends on dozens, if not hundreds of talented people]
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Cliff is retarded but no : props where props are due



Decent video for his career and things he had accomplished.

Kojima encouraged him to chase the own studio and LawBreakers dream which I didn't know.
 
Cliffy mentioned a racing game on water with animals as one idea. With the growth of the friendslop genre, why not try that. A modern take on Atari's Toobin'

DdQ2r0KX0AAW0Hx.jpg
 
I'm glad he's sober. Alcoholism took out a lot of people I love. I wish him the best in his recovery.

I wouldn't make too much out of his statement here, because it comes only 4 months into sobriety. His nervous system is still healing and resetting. That first year of recovery/sobriety can be a weird time.
 
Gets clean from alcoholism created by working in the industry and says he wants to get back to work in the industry that led to his alcoholism. People, places, things, all need to change to remain sober/clean. This won't work buddy, just stay irrelevant.
 
Geez so much negativity in this thread.

I don't think he has a chance to return to Gears franchise, but it would be nice if he made some other game. Just let it not be a multiplayer-only title trying to chase after current trends.
 
1. Gears was amazing under him.

2. A little tip to you Cliff, do not insult your audience. If your game sucks and you insult your audience then fuck you.

3. I do have sympathy for his alcoholism and hope he stays clean.

4. Rock bottom will get you off drinking, but to stay off you need to confront and work through the bottled up stuff, no pun intended.
 
As much as I loved Cliffy, he needs to stay out. The guy is not right in the head and it was very obvious all those years

He was just salty when games that aren't his were successful.

So maybe I'll eventually get my full foot back in the business and hopefully not get pushed into the pool
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Sorry mate, don't think this will happen.
 
I'd love to see something new from Cliffy B.

Unreal Tournament is the best FPS of all time.
Gears is great.
Radical Heights was really fun and had massive potential.

Pretty much all of his games were good, from what I remember.
 
KanKamAndNob said:
xsyROkPZ5AMJV4kE.jpg

With him okaying horrendous character designs like this (especially for the supposed "females"), I think Lil Cliff should stay retired.
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I had to google that image. Lawnbreakers 2017.

Good to see even 9 years ago, game studios kept up the stereotypes with Asian characters with nice straight hair or short hair for the guys, while Black characters (especially the women) always seem to have giant afro or attitude hair. Or the guy has a shaved head.
 
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xrnzaaas said:
Geez so much negativity in this thread.

I don't think he has a chance to return to Gears franchise, but it would be nice if he made some other game. Just let it not be a multiplayer-only title trying to chase after current trends.
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yewh, GAF is full of misanthropic nerds bro what you expect

we like the breakfast club of retards and projectors
 
Takes a lot to publicly admit that. Especially for a guy with that kind of an ego I guess. Good to hear he realised he had a problem. Hate him all you want, he contributed a lot to this industry and him coming back wouldn't be a bad thing. I wish him all the best.
 
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