In an unfortunate yet unsurprising announcement, game developers Sony Santa Monica Studio announced yesterday that God of War Ragnarok, which was scheduled for a 2021 release, has now been pushed to 2022.
While this came as a disappointment to many fans looking forward to what was next in Kratos and Atreus’ journey, many fans also supported Sony Santa Monica’s decision as they want the best possible final result, much like God of War (2018), which was in development for five years. Additionally, the studio cited the “safety and well-being” of its team as the primary reason for the delay; this will surely earn them many brownie points from employees and fans.
However, there is a separate development concerning Ragnarok that pits fans against each other. Shortly after the announcement mentioned above, Hermen Hulst, Head of PlayStation Studios, confirmed in an interview on the PlayStation Blog that Ragnarok will be arriving for both PS4 and PS5. Simply put, it will be a cross-gen title.
This has upset many PlayStation fans as, according to them, a PS4 version of the game will hold back the PS5 version. However, this isn’t true as it’s simply not how game development works. It’s essential to know whether or not the game is being built on PS4 and scaled up to PS5 or the other way around. If it’s the former, then the backlash is valid. If it’s not, the backlash is misguided.
One could say that the game’s presence on PS4 might hold it back in terms of ambition and scope. But there is no way to say this with a satisfactory degree of surety as Sony Santa Monica will have to make something that runs well on PS4 if they want to hit their sales targets. So, it’s a reasonable concern, but it really doesn’t apply here. And besides, if the performance of 2018’s God of War is anything to go by, Ragnarok too will be a hell of a title on an old-gen machine.
What’s more, nowhere has it been specified that Ragnarok will be a boundary-pushing or PS5-defining title; God of War has never been that kind of franchise. So to assume that the game aims to do something on PS5 that it can’t do on PS4 is erroneous. At the moment, titles like the upcoming Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and Astro’s Playroom hold that mantle.
For now, all we can do is speculate and theorize because not much is available in terms of concrete news on what Sony Santa Monica is bringing to the front with the new game. It is rumored that we might briefly get to play as Atreus in the game but, as specified, it is just a rumor. Let’s hope we get a trailer at E3 2021 and let’s pray it is as jaw-dropping as the God of War reveal at E3 2016.
About God of War Ragnarok
God of War Ragnarok is an action-adventure game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was released on November 9, 2022, for PS4 and PS5.
Ragnarok is the ninth installment in the God of War series, chronologically, and the sequel to 2018’s God of War. Loosely based on Norse mythology, the game is set in ancient Norway and features series protagonists Kratos and his young son Atreus. The events of the game are expected to initiate Ragnarok – a series of events that, according to Norse lore, bring about the end of days and the death of the Norse gods.
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