Gears of War creator Cliffy B almost had a role in Death Stranding

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He would have joined a long list of celebrity cameos

(Image credit: Sony)

It looks like Hideo Kojima wanted to add Cliff "Cliffy B" Bleszinski to the star-studded Death Stranding cast. The creator of Gears of War took to Twitter to point out that Kojima asked him to lend his likeness to the game. 

After Kojima tweeted on October 24 that Conan O'Brien has a cameo in Death Stranding as 'The Wondering MC', God of War Director Cory Barlog responded with "Who isn't in this game? Oh that's right. Me." Bleszinski responded to Barlog with what can only be described as a humblebrag, saying Kojima asked him to get involved while he was in Japan, but he "opted out" as it was during the collapse of his studio Boss Key Productions.

Bleszinski founded Boss Key Productions in 2014 and the studio produced two games that failed commercially. He announced in May of 2019 that he was shutting down the studio and stepping back from the world of video games to focus on his family, which meant turning down the chance to be in Death Stranding. "I kinda regret it," Bleszinski wrote in his response to Barlog.

The Gears of War creator would have joined a stacked roster of celebrity cameos and roles, which includes Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead), Lea Seydoux (James Bond, Blue is the Warmest Color), Mads Mikkelsen (Hannibal), Margaret Qualley (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), Troy Baker (The Last of Us), games journalist Geoff Keighley, and of course, Conan O'Brien.

Considering the rather obtuse names given to the characters of both Keighley and O'Brien ('LUDENS fan' and 'The Wondering MC,' respectively), it's a fun little exercise to try and come up with names for Bleszinski's potential character. 'The Meat Shield' or the 'The Crucial COG' are both good options.

Death Stranding will release exclusively for PS4 on November 8. Here's our Death Stranding pre-order guide. 

Alyssa Mercante
Alyssa Mercante
Former Features Writer

Alyssa Mercante used to be a features writer at GamesRadar+ and is now a freelance writer and editor. Prior to entering the industry, she got her Masters's degree in Modern and Contemporary Literature at Newcastle University with a dissertation focusing on contemporary indie games. She spends most of her time playing competitive shooters and in-depth RPGs and was recently on a PAX Panel about the best bars in video games. In her spare time Alyssa rescues cats, practices her Italian, and plays soccer.