Cory Barlog's Secret Santa Monica Game Reportedly Releasing In 2027
Cory Barlog has been locked in a basement cooking up a secret new IP for years, and it looks like a realistic launch window has finally leaked.
Santa Monica Studio runs a notoriously tight ship. When Barlog handed the directorial reins of God of War Ragnarok over to Eric Williams, it was an open secret that he was stepping back to build something entirely new from the ground up. The silence since then has been absolutely deafening. The modern AAA game development cycle is a bloated, agonizing nightmare that takes half a decade or more to complete. I honestly wasn't expecting to hear a damn thing about this mystery project until the PlayStation 6 was sitting on my desk. Luckily, a couple of highly reliable industry insiders just decided to spill the beans and give us a timeline.
The 2027 Release Target
If you were hoping to play this new IP next year, you are completely out of luck.
According to the notoriously accurate insider Nate on Twitter, the game is currently targeting a 2027 release window, barring any catastrophic internal delays. That conversation quickly spilled over into the usual forum spaces, where fans started theorizing that Santa Monica probably has a massive team dedicated to Barlog's game for a far-off 2028 launch. Shinobi over on ResetEra quickly stepped in to correct the timeline. He bluntly stated that the release is "not that far" out.
Let's be realistic here. 2027 sounds like a lifetime away, but in game development years, it is right around the corner. A 2027 drop puts this game squarely at the tail end of the PlayStation 5 lifecycle. It is the exact same swan-song strategy Sony pulled with massive hits like Ghost of Tsushima and The Last of Us Part 2 on the PS4. They want a massive install base ready to buy their most expensive games.
A Greek God Remake
The leaks also casually dropped another massive piece of information that deserves its own spotlight.
Apparently, Santa Monica Studio has a smaller pre-production team spinning up a God of War remake. I am talking about the original 2005 PS2 classic. We live in an era where publishers are terrified of taking risks, so greenlighting a ground-up remake of Kratos' original bloody rampage makes perfect financial sense. It is a guaranteed fucking cash printer. I just hope they have the sense to keep the original, unhinged Greek-era Kratos attitude intact instead of trying to sanitize him for modern audiences. Give me the angry god of war, not the sad dad of war.
A Summer Reveal
The silver lining to all of this industry chatter is that you will not have to wait until 2027 just to see a CGI logo.
Both Nate and Shinobi seem heavily aligned on the idea that Sony is gearing up to officially announce Barlog's project this summer. A PlayStation Showcase around June would be the perfect place to finally rip the bandage off. Sony desperately needs to show us their cards for the back half of this console generation. Pulling back the curtain on a brand new Santa Monica IP is exactly the kind of heavy hitter they need to get people talking again. I will be keeping my eyes peeled, but for now, adjust your expectations and settle in for a long wait.
