tech
'I felt like Orpheus': how the designer of Gears of War bounced back from studio closure by producing Hadestown
After suffering the schadenfreude of gamers online, the Tony-winning Broadway musical offered redemption to Cliff Bleszinski
TL;DR
- Cliff Bleszinski, formerly 'CliffyB', faced heartbreak and drinking issues after the failure of his first independent studio, Boss Key Productions, and its games LawBreakers and Radical Heights.
- LawBreakers, a hero shooter, failed to compete with Blizzard's Overwatch, and Radical Heights was plagued by hackers due to a lack of cheat protection.
- Bleszinski struggled with the financial and emotional burdens of running a failing studio, leading to its closure in 2018.
- He found a new passion in musical theater after connecting with actor Alex Boniello and became a co-producer for the Broadway musical Hadestown.
- Hadestown achieved significant success, winning 14 Tony Awards, which Bleszinski described as redemption and a parallel to the myth of Orpheus, where he did not 'turn around' and succumb to failure.