A recent job listing on Santa Monica Studio's website hints at a new God of War game in development. The God of War series capped off the Norse saga with 2022's Ragnarok, which was followed up with 2023's free-to-play Valhalla DLC, both of which set up plot lines for future games.

Spoilers for God of War Ragnarok Ahead
God of War Ragnarok ends with Kratos relinquishing his fate as a destroyer and embracing a position of hope, setting out to rebuild what's left of the nine realms after the titular war. Atreus, meanwhile, heads off on his own journey to find his fellow Giants. The Valhalla DLC brought Kratos to the Norse afterlife, participating in roguelike trials that brought back fragments of his Greek past to help him confront his failings and move on. But more importantly, the DLC teased the Egyptian, Japanese, and Mayan pantheons by way of Tyr's weapons.

With all the aforementioned plot threads, a new God of War game is all but confirmed to happen, and Santa Monica's job listing hints that work has started on the next chapter of the tentpole PlayStation franchise. The studio is looking to hire a Quest Designer for an unannounced "character-centric action game," with the requirements stating that the successful candidate must have a "personal understanding of God of War games."

While other recent reports of SMS' job listings for a Senior Combat Designer "fluent with the combat design choices, systems, mechanics, and enemies in God of War (2018) and God of War Ragnarok (2022)" could be dismissed as an opening for Cory Barlog's unannounced game, the Quest Designer listing outright states knowledge of God of War lore as a requirement. This makes the case for a new God of War title in development even stronger, as they would only require such expertise for a continuation of the critically-acclaimed franchise.

The discovery of the next God of War game in the works is indeed exciting, but one that doesn't come as much of a surprise. God of War is one of Sony's highest-selling franchises, with the 2018 reboot and Ragnarok having sold over 38 million copies combined as of November 2023. And even though it dates back to the PS2 days, fan demand for the series to continue has never been stronger, so it only stands to reason that Sony and Santa Monica will be interested in pursuing it for the foreseeable future. The only missing piece of the puzzle is which pantheon Kratos and Atreus will find themselves in next, but that reveal is likely years away.

Posted: Apr 26, 2024 9:37 pm
Related Forum: PlayStation Forum

Source: https://gamerant.com/santa-monica-studio-job-listing-new-god-of-war-game/