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Bleszinski says he is "over" making games following Boss Key implosion

Bleszinski says he is "over" making games following Boss Key implosion

Games development vet Cliff Bleszinksi says that his departure from the industry might be permanent this time.

In a post on Twitter, the Gears of War maker said that he was "NEVER" making another game in reply to a fan who was angry that his former studio BossKey was not refunding purchases made in its debut project LawBreakers.

Bleszinski also said that all money the studio did have had gone towards the pensions and health insurance of its employees "months" after Boss Key went bust.

In a post on Facebook, the developer went into a bit more detail, saying that he feels "over" making games.

"We're in a polarized world in which we yell at each other through the glaze of glowing rectangles, when we could be kind to one another in person," he said.

"We're in a world where it's cooler to watch other people play 1-3 games than to actually play one yourself.

"We're in a world where you're measured by the number of likes, subscribes, and impressions you get.

"We're in a world where expectations for a product are so off the charts, as are marketing budgets, that game budgets are so crazy that the average consumer can't wrap their head around the cost of making said product.

"I'm honestly not bitter. I literally saw Mark Rein last night, had a hug, and caught up - all good. :) (My nephew did a Fortnite dance for him - OF COURSE, lol)

"Games were good to me, however, the thought of doing it again truly doesn't appeal to me. You haven't seen the thousand yard stares that I've gotten from other developer friends who HAVEN'T been able to retire when we have a pint and they're done with work. The non-stop dysfunction. No one knows what they're doing, and those who hit it big are just as talented as they are lucky, and have good timing. Most have families, and the instability of the business terrifies them. Hell, it scared me, not having kids - imagine fearing for your job and being encouraged to work 12+ hour days, six days a week, just to provide for your family."

Boss Key closed in May of this year following the less-than-stellar launch of its debut title LawBreakers. That title was written off by publisher Nexon to the tune of $32.6m.

The studio tried to save itself with Early Access free-to-play battle royale project Radical Heights - announced days after work on LawBreakers ceased - but this did not take off and in many ways was doomed from the start

Bleszinski left the games industry in 2012 before returning to found Boss Key in 2014.


PCGamesInsider Contributing Editor

Alex Calvin is a freelance journalist who writes about the business of games. He started out at UK trade paper MCV in 2013 and left as deputy editor over three years later. In June 2017, he joined Steel Media as the editor for new site PCGamesInsider.biz. In October 2019 he left this full-time position at the company but still contributes to the site on a daily basis. He has also written for GamesIndustry.biz, VGC, Games London, The Observer/Guardian and Esquire UK.