Gears of War designer wants to work with you on his next game

The next project from industry veteran Cliff Bleszinski, who spent 20 years at Epic Games working on Unreal Tournament and Gears of War, could be announced in March. Speaking with GamerHub, Bleszinski said, "Right now I'm looking at procuring funding for that; expect some news hopefully in the next 4-6 weeks."

Though he's seeking funding presumably from a venture capital firm or a private investor, Bleszinski explained that he ultimately hopes to use this funding as a safety net for an eventual crowdfunding campaign.

"I would like to go directly to the consumer if possible, although with the safety net of providing outside financing," Bleszinski said. "I think Kickstarter is a beautiful, romantic thing. I think that for every success story there's ten failures, sadly, on Kickstarter." (Ed. Note: The actual Kickstarter success rate for video game projects is 34.96 percent).

Bleszinski also expressed his admiration for platforms like Steam Early Access, through which supporters can buy an in-development project and provide feedback to shape the final product.

"But I think it's possible with the success of DayZ, to have the concept of pay-for-alpha or pay-for-early-access, and help the community forge and shape your game," he said. "Build the company while you build the game while you build the community, at the same time."

Outside of a single image released last year (above), we don't really know what form Bleszinski's new game will take. He apparently has a pitch for a new first-person shooter. He has also spoken previously of a new IP codenamed "Silverstreak" that he'd like to work on some day. Bleszinski left Epic Games in October 2012 after 20 years with the company. He now wants to redefine his legacy and will not work on the new Gears of War game at Microsoft.

Of note, the GamerHub interview is primarily focused on Bleszinski's investment in a Raleigh, North Carolina restaurant.