It would probably be easier to explain why Kratos made his way from taking down the entire Greek pantheon to fighting against Norse gods than trying to make sense of why Santa Monica Studio and Sony refuse to announce when God of War: Ragnarok is coming out.
After officially delaying the God of War sequel to launch this year and dropping an official reveal trailer in September, we haven’t heard much about God of War: Ragnarok at all.
In fact, here’s a quick summary of everything we’ve learned about the upcoming God of War installment from “official” sources so far:
- In April 2022, Cory Barlog posted a video saying that Santa Monica Studio isn’t ready to show off God of War: Ragnarok yet.
- A few days after Balrog’s update video, the game’s animation director, Bruno Velasquez, reaffirmed that God of War: Ragnarok will still launch later this year.
- The internal release date of God of War: Ragnarok was changed from September 30 to December 31 a few weeks ago.
- Cory Barlog asks fans to “stay patient” amidst rumors that Sony will announce something related to God of War: Ragnarok on the 30th.
Just hours after Barlog’s tweet went viral, the God of War: Ragnarok producer is on Twitter again telling audiences that God of War: Ragnarok is still coming out later this year but that Santa Monica Studio still isn’t prepared for a showcase.
because its not.
— the fake cory balrog (@corybarlog) June 29, 2022
Of course, the wording can get tricky. For example, we reported that Quantic Dream is having a hard time hiring for Star Wars Eclipse and that the studio has delayed the game to 2027. However, the studio later refuted the report, effectively saying that you can’t delay a game without a release date. Even though we know that Santa Monica Studio is above this kind of statement, it’s hard to feel secure when all that Barlog has had to say is that he will “talk soon” to everyone.
If it’s any consolation, this isn’t the first time that a big game didn’t get a release and trailer until it’s almost out. For all we know, the rumors of Ragnarok going on sale on November 4 are true. In this case, Sony could hold a State of Play exclusively for Ragnarok in September or even October.
It’s just odd that Sony isn’t taking advantage of the lack of competition later this year. With Starfield and Redfall out of the picture, Sony can hog all the attention by releasing God of War: Ragnarok just in time for the holidays. The best part is that the company will not be risking cannibalizing the sales of its own big titles as Forspoken will be out by early October anyway.
Ultimately, the ball is and will always be in Sony’s court. We’re better off doing the decent thing and giving Santa Monica Studio the space it needs to work on God of War: Ragnarok peacefully. We’re pretty sure asking Barlog and anyone else about the game’s release date isn’t helping at all.
