Publishers, especially ones that double as console manufacturers, love to have developers who create exclusively for their hardware. When we talk about Sony, some of the crown jewels and golden geese of the empire would include developers like Naughty Dog, Q Games, and Sony Santa Monica Studios. The latter entry, has been responsible for shepherding the God of War franchise from its inception through to the present. That franchise has been responsible for helping to significantly shape the careers of people like Dave Jaffe, Cory Barlog, and Stig Asmussen to name a few.

But you can't just make one game franchise, and indeed the biggest news from Sony Santa Monica Studio is that the developer is planning to embark on a new, currently unannounced IP. The news comes to us via a job listing for a senior level designer posted on Gamasutra. The contact information for the poster is not specified, but the description confirms that the studio is in development on some new IP. If it's truly a new IP and not some spin-off from an existing franchise one could assume that this particular game is not God of War related.

The three core games of the God of War trilogy have already been packaged into a bundle. The portable games have also been put into a recently released collection which is now available via retail or a digital download from PSN. Rumors have also been circulating for quite sometime regarding the creation of of God of War 4 though Sony Santa Monica has been tight-lipped about anything regarding the franchise, and has stated on several occassions that God of War 3 was the last game to feature Kratos. Though for anyone who has finished God of War 3, the fate of Kratos is left open ended. I won't spoil it with specifics, but let's just say that we may not have seen the last of Kratos.

This information begs several questions and gives a good turn of the crank at the rumor mill. The first obvious one being what could this new IP be? Is it a spin-off or something entirely new? Additionally, what is happening with God of War 4, and when can we expect an official announcement on that as opposed to animation leaks? Is the rumored multiplayer aspect actually going to be part of the next game?

Sadly, we probably aren't going to get any information on this stuff anytime soon, but rest assured that as soon as we know, you will too. In the meantime, you can check out Ben Kendrick's review of God of War 3 if you want to know what it is that your missing on consoles, and for all you portable fans out there there's TJ Lauerman's review of Ghost of Sparta. Cheer up people! There will be blood... at somepoint!

Source: Gamasutra