Details and images of Sony’s canceled live-service multiplayer God of War game have leaked online.
At the beginning of the year, Sony canceled two unannounced live-service games that were in development at Bend Studio and Bluepoint Games, with the latter thought to be a multiplayer God of War game.
Now, a number of screenshots reportedly taken from the canceled project have been published by MP1st, hinting that the game may have be set in Greece once again and feature a range of diverse backdrops, including caverns and temples.
Two screenshots, purportedly of Hades’ Armory, apparently show the same area in different states, one ‘normal’ and the other seemingly infected by a curse or otherworld state with rust-colored stains.
Hades was introduced in 2005’s God of War and appeared in God of War II, but it wasn’t until God of War III that he became a major antagonist before his brutal death at the end of the third instalment. Quite how Bluepoint planned to explain his return in this game we may never know, but it does show the Sony-owned studio was moving beyond the rebooted series’ hitherto Norse setting, although there are some Norse-like touches in the screenshots, too, suggesting Bluepoint was either intending to mix it up or still experimenting.
Sony has yet to announce a new God of War game, although given the success of both 2018’s God of War and 2022’s God of War Ragnarök it seems inevitable that fans will get more from the franchise. The question is, in what form and in which setting will God of War take on next?
Speaking at MCM London Comic Con last week, Kratos actor Christopher Judge said he hoped God of War would cover the Egyptian pantheon. “Because I became best known as Teal’c from Stargate, to go to Egypt would be a completion of my circle,” he teased. “But whatever is decided — wait… if there is another game, I have no doubt that no matter what pantheon it is, it will be great.”
As for the God of War TV series? Ronald D. Moore — known for Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Outlander, For All Mankind, and much more — is taking on the live-action series for Amazon.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.