Gears of War has changed quite a bit since the series first premiered back in 2006. It used to be one of the best-selling exclusives on the Xbox 360, and was well-known for its brutal atmosphere, macho heroes, and chainsaw assault rifles.
Fast-forward to 2020, and the third-person shooter franchise isn't nearly as popular as it used to be. Some people may chalk that up to the change in developers or market preferences, but series creator Cliff Bleszinski thinks he knows the real reason Gears of War isn't what it used to be: it's too "woke" now.
Following former Gears of War studio head Rod Fergusson's move to Blizzard, CliffyB offered Microsoft to consult on the Gears franchise, saying that a lot of his and former Epic Games lead designer Lee Perry's unused ideas were left "on the cutting room floor." Another Twitter user by the name of Ordingandr quipped that CliffyB should be careful not to make Gears too "woke," a reference to his earlier remark that "woke culture" was what ruined LawBreakers, his and Boss Key Productions' attempt at a hero shooter game in the vein of Overwatch. CliffyB responded that he can't make it too "woke" because Microsoft and developer The Coalition already did.
Certainly, there are some fans who prefer the original 360 trilogy to the newer Gears games The Coalition has developed. And though Gears 5's story was a great addition to the series' history, there's no denying that the new games just aren't selling as well as they used to. But has Gears of War really become too "woke?" No, probably not. If Gears of War isn't as good as it used to be, it's either because Epic Games stopped developing it or because the market has changed, or both.
Predictably, most people aren't taking CliffyB too seriously, with one Twitter user going so far as to call him "a joke." That may be a bit on the harsh side, but it does seem like he's using "woke culture" as an excuse for things he doesn't seem to understand. Maybe he just needs to explain himself, because apart from Gears 5's female protagonist, there's nothing that suggests the series is "woke." Does he think Gears Pop! is "woke?"
Or maybe CliffyB means Gears of War is "too woke" in a good way. After all, he thought his most recent game LawBreakers was too "woke," and that was somehow responsible for the game's demise. He believes he tried too hard to match Overwatch's diversity when pushing his personal political beliefs into the game's roster of characters. Instead of focusing on making a neat game, he described it as "the game with the 'woke bro' trying to push his hackey politics on us with gender neutral bathrooms."
Gears 5 is available on PC and Xbox One. A new Gears of War game has not been announced.