It’s a major shift that took place at Santa Monica Studio, the origin of the God of War games.
The transition of the God of War series was highly unexpected, but also hugely successful. The very nagging hack ‘n slash elements, which nonetheless don’t lack depth, have given way to third-person games that are much more focused on the narrative, despite the still-ubiquitous combat. The 2018 sequel and God of War: Ragnarok revolutionized the franchise and quickly established itself in the top flight. The license has now become one of the standard bearers of the PlayStation brand. A system-seller generator whose latest work barely came close to GOTY 2022. But all great stories have their share of drama here, and Kratos isn’t going to shy away from it with this very bad news.
A talented art director leaves
The studio behind the games God of War has actually just lost one of its key figures, namely Rafael “Raf” Grasetti. This Friday, May 19th, was the last working day for the man in the Santa Monica Studio, but also at Sony. “after more than a decade of participating in an incredible journey”. In a short Twitter thread he thanks his colleagues and Sony “second home”and explains that “Capabilities [qu’il a] acquired and the deep bonds he forged with incredible people will remain [lui] forever”. So he packed his bags on good terms.
A departure according to taste “bittersweet”for this former lead artist on God of War (2018) and as Artistic Director God of War: Ragnarok. Raf Grasetti has previously worked as an art supervisor on several PlayStation productions, from Killzone: Shadowfall to The Order 1886pass inFAMOUS: Second son. Before joining Sony in 2012, Grasetti had already completed his CV as a freelancer. He had notably worked on the character designs for The Witcher 2. Assassin’s Confession 3 etc originsas well as in cutscenes (risen 2, crackdown 2). Finally, let’s mention his work on Mass Effect 3 at Bioware between 2011-2012.
While you’re waiting for him to reveal his next projects, know that Grasetti has one official pagein which he shares artworks created by him.
What future does Santa Monica Studio have after God of War?
Through his work at the Santa Monica Studio, Raf Grasetti helped breathe new life into Kratos’ popularity. However, we don’t know if the studio’s next game will be a sequel to God of War or a brand new license. In any case, there is reason for hype, as PlayStation Studios boss Hermen Hulst shared his excitement on social media after visiting his premises. If it’s primarily a marketing coup, we’ll be excited to see what Cory Barlog and his teams have in store for us.
