God of War: Ragnarok Gets Release Window Delayed to 2022

It appears the wait for the next installment of the God of War series will be a little longer than expected. US-based, first-party developer for Sony Interactive Entertainment, Santa Monica Studio, confirmed on Twitter this week that the upcoming sequel to the 2018 God of War game, God of War: Ragnarok, has had its release window shifted to 2022.

The announcement from Santa Monic Studio cited wanting to make a "top-quality game while maintaining the safety and wellbeing" of the upcoming title's team, creative partners and their families, likely referring to the ongoing global pandemic.

PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst also spoke at length on the issue this week on the Official PlayStation Podcast. Regarding God of War: Ragnarok, he stated, "And for God of War, the project started a little later." He continued, "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."

Meanwhile, Horizon Forbidden West, another narrative-driven Sony IP, is still on track for a 2021 release. Obviously, hearing about a delay to a highly anticipated game can be tough. At the same time, developing massive AAA game releases such as this can be difficult, especially in the midst of an ongoing global pandemic. With that in mind, it's understandable why delays might be necessary.

Considering the quality and high reception to the last God of War game, it's more important not to rush the Sony Santa Monica team, so they have plenty of time to make the satisfying payoff to the saga of Kratos and Atreus that fans deserve and want to see. Look no further than the tumultuous release of Cyberpunk 2077 and how rushing an unfinished game to the shelves can ruin the reputation of a highly celebrated game studio.

Of note, Hulst also confirmed that the next God of War will be available on PlayStation 4. He noted, "You can’t build a community of over 110 million PS4 owners and then just walk away from it, right? I think that’d be bad news for fans of PS4, and frankly not very good business."

God of War: Ragnarok received its announcement teaser last year, which you can see below. However, the 2021 release period from the teaser is now dated due to the updated release window. The game is currently being developed for PS4 and PS5 for a 2022 release period.