The Coalition Bans All References to Smoking in Gears 5

Tsing

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Nobody will be lighting up in the latest Gears of War. The Coalition has removed all depictions of smoking from Gears 5 after an anti-smoking organization approached Turner, its esports partner, and requested that tobacco be stripped from the game.

Xbox Games Studio claims the decision fell entirely on the developer. Regardless of who made the call, gamers are having a good laugh at The Coalition's expense, being that Gears 5 has no issue when it comes to blood, gore, and violence.

In a statement, Rod Fergusson, studio head at The Coalition, said: “I’ve seen firsthand the devastating impact of smoking. It’s always been important for me to not use smoking as a narrative device, which is why we made the conscious choice to avoid highlighting or glorifying smoking in ‘Gears 5’ and throughout the Gears of War Universe moving forward.” According to a rep for Xbox Games Studio, the decision was done solely by The Coalition.
 
How else will we know the grizzled veterans if they don't smoke cigars?
 
Am I bad person if IDGAF about who smokes or doesn't in a video game?
 
Tsing said:
Regardless of who made the call, gamers are having a good laugh at The Coalition's expense, being that Gears 5 has no issue when it comes to blood, gore, and violence
Click to expand...

Too true. It's always interesting to see where a company will take a stand. Violence, sex, gore, religion, politics, substance use, etc. It can be tough trying to get a product out there but it can become hypocritical if the product promotes something that can somehow be interpreted as the antithesis of their stance.

It'd be funny is there were censored/uncensored versions of this game. One with cigarettes, the others with toothpicks or lollipops or some such.
 
They simply need to use the elements that fit the story. Anything else is untrue to the story they are trying to tell.
 
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