Call of Duty-style development is ‘soulless’ says Bleszinski

Gears of War design director Cliff Bleszinski has spoken out against developers handing over their IP to be developed by other studios, saying the Call of Duty-style approach to games means quality is ‘lost in translation’.

Speaking to Develop at a recent press event for the launch of Gears of War 2, was asked the Epic designer about his views on franchises that have the popularity of Gears but which have multiple designers.

But Bleszinski said he wasn’t interested in letting another developer have a crack at designing a Gears episode – and other franchises which try that approach tend to become soulless when a property changes hands.

He said: "We’ve got a lot of ideas about where the franchise will go. But sometimes I feel a franchise loses something when it’s shifted off to another shop. You get the primary studio that really understands about the franchise, and sometimes the other studio that takes it over can do well, but there’s something lost in translation, like the game’s soul has gone."

Click here to read the full interview with Bleszinski.