Gears 5 is the next game in the franchise and The Coalition does not want any smoking references in the game. The boss of The Coalition, Rod Fergusson talked about how it has always been important to him not to use smoking as a narrative device.
Fergusson talked about smoking not highlighted in the upcoming Gears 5. Smoking is often glamorized in pop culture and it is great that game developers are avoiding this altogether. Here is what Rod Fergusson had to say regarding the matter:
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.
In the previous games, we have seen some characters smoke but it has never been a major part of the character or a theme that we have seen in the franchise. It is still a positive step that is worth talking about. Gears 5 is going to be played by millions of players around the world and the lack of smoking references is going to be a great move.
Robin Koval, CEO and president of Truth Initiative praised Gears 5 for not having any smoking references. Here is what he had to say regarding the matter:
In the midst of the pervasive re-emergence of glamorized smoking imagery in pop culture, we commend Xbox for taking smoking out of Gears 5 and ELeague for featuring this tobacco-free game during this weekend’s competition. We are hopeful that this decision will encourage other game developers and streaming tournaments to follow this lead and level up the gaming experience by going tobacco-free.
Let us know what you think about Gears 5 not having any smoking references and whether or not you are interested in playing the game when it comes out.
