In a move that parallels what other game developers have altered in their games, Gears 5 is ensuring that all references to smoking and the use of tobacco will be omitted. The decision came after the Truth Initiative, a non-profit organization devoted to anti-smoking campaigns, collaborated with Turner Broadcasting to strip all mentions of smoking from the game.
Turner’s ELEAGUE esports division has recently acquired broadcast rights to the title and is promoting the collaborative effort this weekend during the upcoming ELEAGUE Gears Summer Series Invitational, taking place July 13th and July 14th. The action will be covered live on Twitch and will be the first time that fans can see the Gears 5 gameplay in action at length.
Clearly, the work aims to fight against the harms of smoking and to eliminate its usage from mediums which are clearly targeted toward the youth of today. Rod Fegusson, the current studio head at The Coalition, states that “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.”
Of course, the concession to eliminate tobacco may seem almost trivial in a game about incredible violence and gore in Gears 5, which is the fifth installment in a series about an ongoing war to save humanity. The game is marketed toward mature audiences, but younger ones can still access the games if they are purchased by parents.
Still, comparisons of smoking to depictions of violence seem inappropriate. We see violence in films, television, and literature, and time and again, studies show, such as one reported by ScienceDaily, no conclusive link between any violence in digital media and the tendency to act in violent ways.
The trend of cutting smoking from media is not a new one. Recently, Netflix has stated that it would cut tobacco usage in its original programming targeted toward younger viewers, but they will make an exception for cases of historical or factual accuracy.
Blizzard acted in a similar fashion when removing the cigar smoked by Tychus from Starcraft II in its MOBA, Heroes of the Storm. Before the change, it would be common to see the character almost always puffing away at his cigar. The same could be said of many of the marines previously seen in the Starcraft in-game FMVs.
Overall, the move feels like a positive one. There has been nothing but continual scientific studies to highlight the inherent dangers of smoking tobacco for decades now, and including it in mediums or forms of entertainment consumed mainly by young people is often perceived as a recipe for disaster. Games need not be moralistic beacons to consider for our behavior, but it would also be wrong of them to promote an activity that we know to be so dangerously unhealthy.