'God Of War' Director Isn't Repeating The Role For 'Ragnarok'

We had high hopes for the reveal of God of War Ragnarok. The game was announced back in 2020 with a 2021 release window which got us all pretty hyped. Of course, that plan didn't happen and the game's trailer reveal and final launch date were pushed back so we've been waiting a long time to find out more about the second edition of the father and son adventure.

Last night at the PlayStation Showcase we finally got our first proper look at the new environments Kratos and Atreus will be exploring, their weapons, new enemies and even a small bit about the quest they'll embark on. We've all assumed that the team composition on God of War Ragnarok at Santa Monica Studio would be the same as God of War (2018) but as it turns out, the director of the original has moved on to other projects.

Here is the trailer for God of War Ragnarok in case you missed it...

Cory Barlog is one of the best-known game directors in the industry because of his long long history with the God of War series. He worked on the original God of War games, then moved briefly to Crystal Dynamics to work on Tomb Raider, before returning to Santa Monica Studio to direct God of War. There wasn't for a moment the expectation that he shouldn't be the director on Ragnarok but he's taken a step back on this project to allow someone else a turn at the helm.

Barlog will still be involved in the production of Ragnarok, while seemingly working on other projects too, but Eric Williams will be directing the game. In a post-show stream talking about the change, VGC notes that William says: "It's always been a tradition here at Santa Monica, to change the directors across the games. We've had really good success with that. Corey is the only repeat director and rightfully so: he's damn good at what he does."

Barlog agrees and says that it's important that the games get "a fresh perspective each time" and that the process of directing a game that big is so exhausting that "you've got to con somebody else into doing it".

Though we did expect Barlog to direct the sequel, it's good to see that Santa Monica Studio is keeping us on our toes and trying something new. It means we might be more surprised by the events and choices that Ragnarok makes, which will always make for interesting gameplay experiences. We can't wait for its release in 2022.

Topics: God of War Ragnarok, Santa Monica Studio