The video game industry is full of iconic developers who have brought out and worked on a number of incredible video game franchises. One of those individuals is Cliff Bleszinski who may be best known for his work with Epic Games. The developer had his hands on several franchises and helped paved the way for Microsoft’s exclusive IP Gears of War. After years with Epic Games, Cliff Bleszinski decided to start his own venture with a studio he created called Boss Key Productions.
This studio opened up in 2014 and they released their first video game IP, LawBreakers in 2017. Unfortunately, the game didn’t receive enough fans to actively play the game which resulted in the team closing down the servers 2018 followed by the team starting their work on another video game IP Radical Heights, a battle royale title that never made it out of early access. Ultimately the studio was closed down and since the closure, there have been reports about refunds not making it to gamers way who have purchased LawBreakers and apparently a Twitter user brought the situation up again to Cliff, though that tweet has since been removed.
I paid my employees, their 401ks, and their health care – even months after the studio folded. So they could care for their families.
I didn’t take a salary myself for two years.
I get you’re sad, but god, this kinda shit is another reason I am NEVER making another game. https://t.co/RtS7l5WcAl
— Cliff Bleszinski (@therealcliffyb) November 15, 2018
What hasn’t been removed is Cliff Bleszinski’s reply who stated that the funds earned went towards his employees such as 401k’s and health care. This also sparked a response from Cliff who stated that he is never making a video game again. This could be of spite over the comments made toward him online but after the loss of Boss Key Productions I could imagine taking some time off would be a good idea before jumping back into video game creation.
[Source: Game Informer]