Gears 5 will not smoke after speaking to an anti-smoking group

The Coalition apparently lit the no smoking sign in Gears 5 as it was revealed that all tobacco references would be removed from the next shooter. Various reports indicate that the developer of Gears 5, The Coalition, made the decision to remove the shooter's references after discussing it with the Anti-Tobacco Truth Initiative organization.

The truth initially drew Turner's attention to the concerns raised about the depiction of smoking in Gears 5. Turner is a partner in the ELeague e-sports organization, which also holds the Gears tournament broadcast rights. esports.

Rod Fergusson, studio director at the Coalition, discussed the decision not to include representations of tobacco or tobacco in a statement to Variety:

"I saw first-hand the devastating impact of smoking," Fergusson said. "It has always been important for me not to use smoking as a means of storytelling, which is why we deliberately chose to avoid putting forward or glorifying smoking in" Gears 5 "and in the universe Gears of War in the future. "

Only a few characters from the Gears of War universe regularly smoked cigarettes or tobacco cigars. Specifically, characters like Michael Barrick and Alexandra Brand have been portrayed as smoking cigars.

Despite the elimination of tobacco, Gears 5 is still rated "M" for adults. Gears 5 will always have the shooting, gore and dismemberment for which the Gears of War franchise is known. But despite the violence, Seth Ladetsky, head of sales and marketing strategy at Turner Sports Digital and Eleague, told Variety that the removal of tobacco references "has an impact" on young people.

Gears 5 will be released on September 10, 2019 for PC and Xbox One. Gears 5 will also be available on Xbox Game Pass.

Matt Kim is a journalist for IGN. You can reach him on Twitter.