Sony Santa Monica's upcoming God of War: Ragnarok sequel is one of the most anticipated games currently, and for good reason. The team delivered a great reboot of the long-running franchise, with an ending that instantly makes God of War fans clamor to see what's up next.
Santa Monica recently revealed that the game has been delayed to 2022, which fans have well in the hopes that it will ensure a better game. While fans don't have much information on the matter, including the name of the game itself, they did get an excited surprise when it comes to the 2018 game. God of War recently became playable on PC via PlayStation Now, and while this might not seem like much at first, closer inspection can reveal a number of interesting insights about the current state of development at Sony Santa Monica.
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Sony has recently established a new pattern for building hype and anticipation for its biggest titles, with games like Horizon Zero Dawn and Death Stranding receiving PC ports to entice greater audiences to buy into the console manufacturer's future entries. Kojima Productions' Death Stranding and Guerilla Games' Horizon Zero Dawn were both released for the PC platform in 2020, which opened both games to a wider audience and built even more hype and anticipation for what's in store for the future.
Guerilla Games and Kojima Productions both recently unveiled the first proper look at Horizon Forbidden West and Death Stranding: Director's Cut respectively, which are obviously exclusive to PlayStation platforms. The originally speculated time gap between releases on other platforms and subsequent sequels is more or less around a year, although Forbidden West has reportedly been delayed to 2022 due to the pandemic.
This trend does definitely makes sense for the God of War: Ragnarok sequel, as God of War 2018 joined the PlayStation Now library following the announcement of the next game's delay to 2022. Of course, playing God of War on PC isn't as effortless as traditional games on the platform since performance is completely dependent on network quality and geographical location. But the sentiment holds nevertheless, and PC players seem to be quite elated about finally getting a chance to experience the game.
Allowing players on PC to experience what God of War has to offer will inevitably entice them to buy a shiny new PS5 in anticipation of the sequel. Keeping in mind previous trends, it opens the door for speculation on the matter of potential release window, and the God of War: Ragnarok sequel could occupy the April 2022 release window in the vein of its predecessor. Of course, that means games like Gran Turismo 7 and other first-party releases for the year will have to occupy release dates that aren't traditional for Sony.
Backing the sentiment is another rumor that has been doing the rounds about a God of War Ragnarok trailer set to premiere this month. This would make sense since Horizon Forbidden West will probably be hit with a delay, as Sony can reveal another high profile exclusive at the next State of Play to compensate for Horizon Forbidden West moving to 2022.
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While the delay may have come as a surprise to some, it wasn't so to most fans. A number of rumors and alleged leaks had been doing the rounds prior to the delay announcement, and it's claimed that Sony Santa Monica had internally delayed the release date to 2022 quite a bit before the announcement as well. Of course, this all makes sense given the scale of the God of War: Ragnarok sequel.
God of War 2018 started development way back in 2014, which took so much time due to the radical shift in tone and gameplay. God of War: Ragnarok doesn't have to do the grueling groundwork that the studio had to do with the original, but a three-year development cycle still seems optimistic at best. Furthermore, add to the fact the COVID-19 pandemic – and the delay makes complete sense.
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God of War: Ragnarok never had a release date, and still has a very vague one at best, the year 2022. Thus, the delay isn't surprising, and the inclusion in PS Now's library seems to be right on point for building more hype and anticipation for the game. However, that doesn't take away from the fact that God of War is essentially still exclusive to PS4, and PC players still need a DualShock 4 controller to enjoy the game.
That being said, fans might just be in for a treat later this year. PlayStation has become increasingly accepting towards PC releases of its games, and storefronts like Epic Games Store are also similarly keen on doling out copious amounts of money for these ports. PlayStation recently acquired Nixxes, a studio known for developing PC releases. Sony also confirmed the purpose of the studio is to bring more experiences to PC.
Another previous leak from Sony's internal strategy seems to back this sentiment in a strong manner, and games like Uncharted 4 have seemingly been confirmed to be arriving on the PC platform sooner than later. In a similar vein, it's entirely possible that God of War may also be coming sooner, possibly later this year. However, this is also long-sighted speculation, albeit with a few supporting factors nevertheless.
God of War: Ragnarok has a lot to live up to, and it makes complete sense to give developers all the required time in the world to achieve that goal. The original had a number of great ideas, including its famous one-take for the entirety of the campaign, and it'd certainly be interesting to witness how Sony Santa Monica takes it a step further. Hopefully, fans get to have yet another breathtaking experience in the God of War franchise, and it could possibly come early next year.
God of War: Ragnarok sequel is currently slated to release in 2022 for PS4 and PS5.
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