Skip to main content

The Coalition removes smoking in Gears 5, but the guns will stay

In Gears 5, the only form of smoking will comes from the barrels of guns, as cigars and cigarettes will be removed from the latest entry in the Gears of War series.

The Coalition made the decision after Truth Initiative, a non-profit, anti-smoking organization, approached Turner, whose ELeague esports division holds broadcast rights to Gears 5, according to Variety. Turner worked with The Coalition to strip all references to smoking in the game.

Recommended Videos

Previous Gears of War games contained scenes where characters were smoking cigars or cigarettes. There will be no such scenes in Gears 5, a move that reportedly took months to accomplish.

“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,” said The Coalition studio head Rod Fergusson in a statement.

Variety raises the apparent double standard of removing references to smoking in a game that arguably glorifies violence with destructive weapons blood, and gore. At the same time, though, the report acknowledges studies showing a lack of correlation between playing violent video games and real-world crime.

Meanwhile, Seth Ladetsky, senior VP of Turner Sports Sales and head of Turner Sports Digital and ELeague sales strategy and revenue, said that removing smoking in Gears 5 does not change the nature of the game. The executive also brought up research showing that there is a correlation between exposure to smoking references in entertainment and smoking adoption among younger people.

Truth Initiative President and CEO Robin Koval praised the move of The Coalition to remove all references of smoking in Gears 5. “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,” Koval said in a statement.

Gears 5, which will be released on September 10 for the Xbox One and Windows 10 PC, will soon start its Versus Multiplayer Technical Test. Gamers who are interested in joining the multiplayer test will need to have purchased the title, either as a physical or digital pre-order, or as part of the Xbox Game Pass membership.

Aaron Mamiit
Aaron received an NES and a copy of Super Mario Bros. for Christmas when he was four years old, and he has been fascinated…
3 underrated PS Plus games you should play this weekend (May 3-5)
The main character of Tales of Kenzera: Zau stands with two elemental items.

PlayStation Plus Premium and Extra have been around for almost two years, and during that time the subscription service has established itself as an ample competitor to Xbox Game Pass. That means there is a wealth of great games for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 owners to check out if they're looking for something to play this weekend. I think PS Plus subscribers should be looking toward some of the more underrated games in the subscription service this weekend too.

I have three particular picks in mind. The first is an enjoyable Metroidvania that came to PS Plus' game catalog when it launched just a couple of weeks ago and deserves a lot more attention than it's getting. After that, there's an action-platformer that pays homage to series like Ninja Gaiden that you should check out before it leaves the catalog. Finally, there's a PS2-era Star Wars game that fills the niche a recently canceled game would have.
Tales of Kenzera: Zau

Read more
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is getting a full remake on PS5, Xbox, and PC
A promo image for Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is getting a modern remake. Revealed at today's PlayStation Showcase, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is a new remake from Konami. It doesn't have a release date yet, but a Metal Gear Solid remaster collection is coming this fall.

Rumors of a Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater began to pop up earlier this year, with some teasing that the game would be present at the PlayStation Showcase. Those rumors proved true as the project got a trailer during Sony's big show. The game is also coming to Xbox and PC.

Read more
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s arachnophobia toggle removes all spiders
Cal Kestis with BD-1 droid on his shoulder.

From endless hordes of Empire goons to hulking Rancors that can crush you in one or two hits, there are no doubt a lot of things to be afraid of in EA's new action-adventure sequel Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. However, if one of your fears happens to be spiders, developer Respawn has got you covered with an arachnophobia toggle that completely removes spiders from the game.

Survivor's Arachnophobia Safe Mode ensures that players who aren't particularly fond of eight-legged creepy-crawlies will never have to engage with any spiders that might crawl their way on-screen partway through the campaign. It's an unexpected addition to a game that is otherwise filled to the brim with strange and unsettling creatures to observe and fight, but spiders no doubt have a special way of freaking some of us out. Many folks are certain to appreciate seeing a choice to avoid arachnids altogether when they find themselves scrolling through the game's suite of accessibility options.

Read more