Gears of War was sold to Microsoft because Epic was out of ideas, Cliff Bleszinski says

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“They were growing and they probably needed the income”

Gears
(Image credit: The Coalition)

Former Gears of War lead designer Cliff Bleszinski says that Epic Games “didn't really know what to do with the franchise” after he left, with the company later selling it to Microsoft.

Speaking on IGN’s Unfiltered podcast, Bleszinski predictably had plenty to say about his time at Epic and the sale that took such a huge part of his fame to Microsoft. Bleszinski famously left Epic a couple of years before the sale, but he suggests the writing was already on the wall once he and other key members of the Gears of War team left.

While Bleszinski doesn’t give the impression of someone who necessarily holds a grudge against Epic or the sale of Gears of War, it does sound like he might be entitled to. Speaking of what happened immediately after Microsoft picked up the franchise, Bleszinski says that it was the buyer that reached out to him — not his former employer.

“When the IP was sold to Microsoft the only phone call I got was from Phil Spencer. Right? And that's Phil. Phil is, as they say, a gentleman and a scholar," Bleszinski said. Spencer is the head of Xbox to this day and has seen multiple Gears of War games developed since that time.

Speaking of why he thinks Epic ultimately decided to part ways with Gears, Bleszinski believes it was all about cold, hard cash. “They were growing and they probably needed the income,” he says, before throwing in the comment about Epic not knowing what to do with a franchise that had proven so popular. Not that Epic’s struggled for ideas in general — Fortnite still seems to be fairly popular these days.