Gears of War designer Cliff Bleszinski has spoken publicly about his struggle with alcoholism, revealing that drinking undermined his career and contributed to the collapse of his studio, Boss Key Productions. In a wide-ranging interview with 80 Level, the 51-year-old developer said he was a "functioning alcoholic" during his time at Epic Games and later became a "non-functioning" one, admitting his drinking played a significant role in the failure of the hero shooter LawBreakers and its follow-up, Radical Heights.

Bleszinski said his problems with alcohol began in 2003 during work on Unreal Tournament and continued through the Gears of War trilogy, which he said was "largely developed hungover" by him. He suffered a seizure and was hospitalised in March, after which he stopped drinking; he is now four months sober and seeing a therapist. He also discussed how his ego contributed to past mistakes, including turning down a co-founder role for Rod Fergusson at Boss Key, and said he is now considering a return to game development, though he has ruled out making another PvP title.