Although it was released a few years into the PS4's lifetime, God of War has become one of the console's iconic exclusives. Even two or three years after it came out, the epic action-adventure game is sure to have lots players interested in another playthrough on the PS5. However, replaying the game isn't necessarily enough to satisfy God of War fans, and ideally, the next title in the franchise will show up on the PS5 in the near future. There were rumors to that effect until pretty recently, when the newest game's director shot them down. It's pretty understandable that fans would find that kind of statement on God of War's progress disappointing.
The last game was such a success, and the PS5 has such major performance improvements. The natural progression would be to take advantage of both those things and keep the series going strong by making the next game a release title, or at least publishing the game soon. However, there's certainly a payoff to be had. Just because it's known that the game isn't coming out soon doesn't mean that the game isn't coming at all. There's still a distinct chance that the developers just aren't ready to reveal it yet. The PS5 has enough exciting content on the way to keep players entertained ahead of a new God of War. It'll be better in the long run if Santa Monica Studio takes its time to make God of War 5 the best it can be.
The Tide of Demand
Not a lot of games get overwhelmingly positive reviews quite like God of War did. The continuation of Kratos' story in a brand new setting couldn't have been more warmly received, generating a massive following and earning a staggering cumulative score of 94 on Metacritic. Everything from the graphics to the combat to the exploration was much more than up to snuff. God of War wasn't exactly a minor franchise to begin with, but the most recent title turned a lot of heads, regardless of whether or not players had touched the franchise before.
Frankly, a sequel seems inevitable. It's not often that a game that gets so much attention goes without some kind of follow-up from the developers. Also, without revealing too much, those who have already played through God of War know that the ending sets up plenty of battles and adventures to come. If anything it would be surprising and strange for Sony and Santa Monica Studio not to keep the God of War series going strong and get a sequel out in the next few years. Fans are dying to know what happens next.
God of War's sales alone speak for the game's success and the franchise's importance to Sony. It's the best selling game in the series to date, having sold more than 10 million copies within a year of its release. Executives and developers alike are sure to be keenly aware of those kinds of numbers and wondering if a sequel could replicate that success and boost PS5 sales. Even the idea of a new God of War of the same caliber is liable to convince some loyal fans to pick up a PS5. Such a cornerstone title is going to bend the current of sales around it one way or another.
Shrouded in Mystery
If that's the case, what's the holdup? Surely Sony wants to have this game ready soon to help make the PS5 a success. The God of War series has typically had a pretty brisk and organized release schedule. Each of the original three games came out about two to three years within one another. It's already been two years since the series-reviving entry came out, so one would expect that Sony would've at least revealed that a sequel is on the way in order to drum up hype. So why not? The truth might be that Sony just doesn't think it has to do that right now.
If God of War was a priority title for Sony right now, it probably would've been revealed at the recent PS5 conference. Since it wasn't, it sounds like Sony is paying more attention to PlayStation exclusives like Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Horizon Forbidden West, two more sequels to groundbreaking titles native to the PS4. The event was generally acknowledged as a great success even though a new God of War game didn't show up. Sony must have been confident in its other games if it didn't feel a need to have a God of War sequel ready by now, but that doesn't mean that fans need to fear that there won't be a sequel at all.
Slow and Steady
The sheer amount that content that Sony had to show off recently indicates that it's feeling ambitious. However, there's such thing as being too ambitious, and Sony probably knows it. It might stretch itself and its studios too thin if it tried to prioritize a God of War sequel when there's so many major release titles on the way for the PS5. Although the last game being so good is wonderful for publicity and profit, it also means that there's a lot of pressure to deliver on the sequel. Sony can't afford to rush the next game and make it a flop. Instead, it might be letting God of War 5 take its time while entrusting other titles to power the PS5's release.
Sony's release games have to do well in order for God of War to do well too. If Sony isn't staking the PS5's sales largely on this sequel and instead trusting in a few other major sequels, it's for the best that it focuses its resources and timetable on the release games. There's no sense in rushing any one game if it's going to affect the other games in the pipeline. It also wouldn't be very smart to push all the big titles for the console to be release titles while not saving anything major for a few years from now. God of War 5 might shine a little later on in the console's life once it's been well established.
Even if it's a smart move for Sony, it's certainly a little disappointing for God of War lovers. The community will have to make do with the likes of Horizon Forbidden West to get their action-adventure fill until the next Nordic God of War adventure is ready to go. Alternatively, they might take advantage of the PS5's backwards compatibility to get the experience again through the new lens of a PS5's power. If Sony takes its time with making the next game. hopefully the end results will be more than worth waiting for.
God of War is available now exclusively for PS4.