Former Gears of War lead designer Cliff Bleszinski, better known as CliffyB, says he is considering a return to the video game industry after rediscovering his passion for creating characters, worlds, and gameplay experiences.
Bleszinski spent nearly two decades at Epic Games, where he played a leading role in developing the original Gears of War trilogy. After leaving the company in 2012, he co-founded Boss Key Productions, which released the multiplayer shooter LawBreakers. Although the game received generally positive reviews, it failed to attract a sustainable player base. The studio later launched Radical Heights, but both projects were shut down in 2018, leading to the closure of Boss Key Productions.
In an interview with 80 Level, Bleszinski explained that he has regained his creative motivation while recovering from alcohol addiction. After suffering an alcohol-related seizure in March 2026 that required hospitalization, he stopped drinking, entered outpatient treatment, and began therapy.
According to the veteran developer, sobriety reignited his passion for game development.
«It's been a journey… 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».
While Bleszinski has not announced a new studio or original game, he has already returned to development by serving as a consultant on the upcoming asymmetrical multiplayer horror title Soul Walker.
The developer also reflected on the collapse of Boss Key Productions, saying it resulted from a combination of creative, business, and leadership mistakes rather than a single issue. He admitted that his ego kept him from bringing longtime Gears of War collaborator Rod Fergusson to the studio. Bleszinski also believes releasing LawBreakers exclusively on PlayStation instead of Xbox cost the game the audience he had built through Gears of War. He added that the shooter lacked a distinctive visual identity, while leadership errors and his growing alcohol addiction further contributed to the studio's downfall.
If he fully returns to game development, Bleszinski says he has no interest in making another competitive PvP shooter. Instead, he would prefer to work on PvE and cooperative experiences similar to Gears of War's Horde mode. He also revealed that everyday tools and machinery continue to inspire ideas for fictional weapons.
For now, Bleszinski is not ready to announce a new studio or a major project. His work on Soul Walker represents a careful first step toward returning to the gaming industry without immediately taking on the scale and risks of his previous ventures.
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