'God of War Ragnarok' (Image: Santa Monica Studios)
One of the best games of all time is getting a sequel. On Wednesday, Sony announced the release date for the highly anticipated exclusive game – God of War Ragnarok will release on November 9, 2022.
11.09.22 pic.twitter.com/0Znd0eKkYG
— Santa Monica Studio – God of War Ragnarök (@SonySantaMonica) July 6, 2022
The days leading up to the “release” of the release date, however, were not a smooth road.
As is common within the gaming community, speculation is king, and speculation among GoW fans was rampant. Many were expecting news of the release to come during the 2022 Summer Game Fest a few weeks ago. Game Fest came and went… and nothing. Then a slew of gaming “insiders” hyped up a June 30 reveal. It also came and went. This all culminated in fans of the popular game harassing game developers for news about the potential release.
Cinematic producer Estelle Tigani described inappropriate advances on Twitter for fans requesting information on the game. “Sending me [illicit pictures] asking for the ‘God of War Ragnarok’ release date will not, in fact, get me to reveal the release date, to the people who are doing so, when did that ever work for you?!” she wrote.
In response to this, Santa Monica Studios released a statement to deter the harassment, “Our fans inspire us, and we understand the passion and desire for more information but that passion should not be toxic nor come at the expense of any human being’s dignity.”
Santa Monica Studios has one of the more unique positions as it comes to major video game releases. With Cyberpunk 2077 having one of the most disastrous rollouts we’ve ever seen, and other delays caused by COIVD-19 such as Starfield and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild leave 2022 a ripe opportunity.
This cresting of fan anticipation and frustration is a result of the gaming industry’s marketing strategies. Many studios slowly feed fans information, resulting in a constant stream of content regarding an upcoming game. This could be in the form of tweets, Twitch streams, events, live streams and public betas. So when Santa Monica went full “zero dark thirty” the emotion boiled over for the passionate fans. This sort of marketing can be harmful to developers, according to trends writer Willa Rowe, “This market of anticipation is used to benefit the publishers but leaves the developers to suffer the consequences.”
For now, fans will have to be content with the November 2022 release and continue to follow the advice of Santa Monica creative director Cory Barlog, with him tweeting, “please, be patient.”
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