News emerged today regarding God of War: Ragnarok that’s somber, but not entirely unexpected. According to an answer in a Q&A with Hermen Hulst on the PlayStation Blog, and an official statement from Santa Monica Studio, the game’s release has been delayed from 2021 to 2022.
One of the reasons cited for the delay notes that work on God of War started later than work on Horizon Forbidden West, with Horizon still targeting a Holiday 2021 release.
God of War: Ragnarok Delayed, Now Aiming for a 2022 Release
— Santa Monica Studio Is Hiring (@SonySantaMonica) June 2, 2021
God of War: Ragnarok won’t be releasing in 2021 according to statements made by Hermen Hulst in a PlayStation Blog post, and confirmation from Santa Monica Studio on Twitter (as seen above).
On the PlayStation Blog, Hermen Hulst describes the updated release situation for God of War as follows:
“We have, currently, two very big, very narrative-driven games in development: Horizon Forbidden West and the next God of War. And for both of those, they’re frankly affected by access to performance capture and talent. For Horizon, we think we are on track to release this holiday season.
But that isn’t quite certain yet, and we’re working as hard as we can to confirm that to you as soon as we can. And for God of War, the project started a little later. So we’ve made the decision to push that game out to next year, to ensure that Santa Monica Studio can deliver the amazing God of War game that we all want to play.
With these things, something’s gotta give. It cannot be the quality of our titles, and it surely won’t be the health or the wellbeing of our amazing team.”
Hulst’s explanation of why God of War is targeting a 2022 release now instead of 2021 is reassuring as it sounds like things are going well. The main conflict is that development on the game started later than Horizon Forbidden West, so God of War isn’t as far along as Horizon is.
It sounds like once God of War is looking closer to being done, we’ll get an update on when the game will be released in 2022 whether that’s earlier or later in the year. We should also get an update on whether Horizon Forbidden West will in fact be released at the end of 2021, or if it’ll likewise get pushed into 2022 in order to ensure a quality product that fans will enjoy.
Other things of interest in the PS Blog post with Hermen Hulst include confirmation that the next God of War, GT7, and Horizon Forbidden West, are all being developed for both PS4 and PS5. With how hard it still is to get a PS5, it’s nice to know everyone will be able to enjoy games like Horizon Forbidden West and God of War: Ragnarok on PS4, no PS5 required.
For more on games like God of War and Horizon Forbidden West, be sure to read through the full Q&A with Hermen Hulst on the PlayStation Blog. As soon as release date updates are provided for God of War: Ragnarok (and Horizon Forbidden West) we’ll be sure to share those with you here at Prima Games.
In the meantime, what do you think of God of War: Ragnarok being delayed from 2021 to 2022? Is this something you expected, or are you surprised to hear that the next God of War won’t be out until next year? Let us know your thoughts on our social media channels including Facebook and Twitter!
Related: Horizon Forbidden West Gameplay Shows Expanded Arsenal & Combat
