The COG soldiers of Gears of War have one less health risk to worry about now, as all depictions of characters smoking have been removed from the Gears series. Developer The Coalition has decided to not portray characters smoking in any future Gears games, a policy that actually started with Gears of War 4.
According to Variety, Truth Initiative approached Turner, the esports broadcaster and organizer that owns the exclusive rights to broadcast Gears 5 gameplay, about the depiction of smoking in the series. In turn, Turner approached The Coalition, who agreed to work with the organization.
“I’ve seen firsthand the devastating impact of smoking,” says The Coalition studio head Rod Fergusson, “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.”
[Source: Variety]
Source: Game Informer
