"The Gears of War trilogy was largely developed hungover by me" - Cliff Bleszinski reckons with a difficult past while plotting a return to games and a brighter future - Eurogamer.net

What the report says

Eurogamer.net reports that Cliff Bleszinski, the veteran game designer closely associated with the first three Gears of War games, has spoken publicly about a long-running struggle with alcohol and the role games industry culture played in it. In an interview with 80 Level cited by Eurogamer, Bleszinski, now 51, traced the start of his drinking to an Unreal Tournament press tour in 2003 and described industry events such as GDC, E3 and partner gatherings as environments where heavy drinking was normalized.

Bleszinski said his alcohol use continued through the period when the original Gears of War trilogy was being made, describing himself at that time as a functioning alcoholic. Eurogamer also recaps his post-Epic career, including the launch of Boss Key Productions, the 2017 shooter LawBreakers, the subsequent battle royale project Radical Heights, and the studio’s closure in 2018 after both games failed to secure lasting commercial momentum.

According to the report, Bleszinski said his health crisis came in March, when he was hospitalized after a seizure, prompting him to stop drinking after what he characterized as 25 years of partying. Eurogamer says he has since been in recovery and that his health has improved. The article also notes his more recent creative work outside games, including his 2022 memoir Control Freak and his role as a co-producer on the Broadway musical Hadestown.

Eurogamer frames the interview as both a personal reckoning and a possible lead-in to a return to game development. Bleszinski told 80 Level he still wants to build characters and worlds, and said consulting on the asymmetrical horror game Soul Walker helped renew his interest. He also suggested he is more drawn now to cooperative PvE play than competitive PvP, citing Gears 2’s Horde mode as an enduring model.