The new God of War game was delayed today, and it looks like Horizon Forbidden West is set to follow. As you would expect, this was enough to divide God of War fans into two camps: those heartbroken by the delay and those who aren’t bothered by the delay and are encouraging Sony Santa Monica to take all the time they need. However, this isn’t the most divisive God of War news to break today. Far from it, actually.
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In addition to confirming the new God of War game isn’t releasing until 2022 at the earliest, Sony also confirmed the next installment in the long-running series is heading to PS4 in addition to PS5. In other words, it’s a cross-gen game.
According to a large swath of PlayStation fans over on Twitter, the game being cross-gen is bad news for those on PS5. The rationale behind this is that the PS4 version will hold back the PS5 version of the game. Put generally like this, this isn’t true. It’s simply not how game development works. What’s more important is whether or not the game is being built on PS4 and scaled up to PS5 or the other way around. If it’s the former, the backlash has a point. If it’s not, the backlash is misguided.
That said, what argument can be made independent of these two possibilities is that the PS4 version will hold back the ambition and scope of the game. Sony Santa Monica has to make something that will run reasonably well on PS4. This is a reasonable concern, but it really doesn’t apply here.
The God of War series isn’t going to push the boundaries of possibility. It’s not that type of series. The argument that this news is negative is an argument based on the assumption that the game was going to aim to do something on PS5 that can’t be done on PS4. However, the reality is most games aren’t going to push the boundaries to the point where this is true.
One game that is doing this is Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, which is why it’s a PS5 exclusive. If the new God of War was going to do this, it would probably have been made as a PS5 exclusive. That said, the PS5 games that release in the next several years that can’t run on PS4 will be few and far between. The new God of War will look and run better on PS5 compared to PS4, and there’s no evidence that the game being on PS4 is shaping or limiting the scope of the game, which comes from a series that isn’t known to innovate and maximize generational differences.
For now, all we can do is speculate and theorize because we have no clue what type of game Sony Santa Monica is making with the new God of War. In the meantime, PlayStation fans are divided.
Cross-Gen? No Big Deal.
Me playing god of war if it was only on PS5 VS me playing god of war while it’s also on PS4 pic.twitter.com/f4f2QxXl1k
โ Megamatt (@MegamattX86) June 2, 2021
Cross-Gen? Big Deal
God of War is cross-gen. Totally absurd, and disappointing.
โ Colin Moriarty (@notaxation) June 2, 2021
Pure Clownery
Pure clownery.
โ ๐๐๐ซ๐ญ (@ClunkSpider) June 2, 2021
Looks like God of War will be a cross-gen title after all.
Imagine going into 2022 with only 3 proper PS5 showcase titles. Pathetic. pic.twitter.com/NJJdKvE49m
Makes Sense
I’ll listen to the full Hermen Hurst interview, but I’m confused as to why folks are mad.
โ Kahlief โLooking For A Digital Badgeโ Adams (@Kahjahkins) June 2, 2021
Everything he shared just made good business sense. You can’t abandon the PS4 install base just yet with not enough PS5’s in the market. Sony needs to put more games on PC.
This Needs to End With God of War
I hope God of War and Horizon are the last 1st party games to be released on PS4. That needs to end.
โ BrokenGamezHDR (@BrokenGamezHDR_) June 2, 2021
Track Record Is Vital Context
HOW COULD GOD OF WAR BE PS4/PS5 CROSS-PLATFORM?!?
โ Destin (@DestinLegarie) June 2, 2021
Me:
Looks at Spider-Man Miles Morales
Looks at God of War PS4-PS5 Updates
Looks at Ghosts of Tsushima PS4-PS5 Updates
Yeah, they’re going to be just fine. When done properly it’s not an issue and this track record is the proof.
Smart Strategy
Sony confirms Gran Turismo 7 as well as God of War: Ragnarok will be released on PS4
โ Piers Harding-Rolls (@PiersHR) June 2, 2021
>Highlights commitment to PS4 user base, but not really a departure from previous gens
I think Sonyโs approach to PS4 long tail support and PS5 exclusivity is pretty sound – good blend pic.twitter.com/U2iNBjSeTU
Upset, But It Don’t Matter
As much as I’m upset about God of war and GT7 being cross gen, I’m most likely gonna get them day 1 and forget all about it tbh pic.twitter.com/9v9ClsZD7x
โ Vee๐คธโโ๏ธ๐คบ (@Agony_onlyAgony) June 2, 2021
Did Sony Mislead Its Costumers?
This is a really bad look for PlayStation. Itโs totally misled its fanbase with its release plans for these games. SIE should have been up front from the start
โ Andy Robinson (@AndyPlaytonic) June 2, 2021