It is no secret anymore that Cory Barlog and Santa Monica Studio are working on a new game. In that vein, a new rumor about Sony hiring Middle Eastern actors for a new video game has sent many into a frenzy, thinking about God of War reportedly taking on the Ancient Egyptian pantheon. But that very rumor should be taken with a huge grain of salt.
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First reported by industry insider Daniel Richtman via his Patreon, the claim suggests that Sony is casting Middle Eastern actors for an unannounced AAA game, which is “likely” to be the next God of War set in Egyptian mythology. The report reads:
“Sony is casting Middle Eastern actors for an unknown AAA game, which is likely to be the next God of War that explores Egyptian mythology.”
While the rumor is unconfirmed by Sony, this kind of speculation isn’t without some amount of support. The God of War introduced players to the Spartan demigod back in 2005 with its story of revenge and redemption supported by action-packed gameplay and wonderful cinematics, ultimately turning it into one of the most popular franchises ever in gaming. After leaving Greece in search of atonement, the cursed warrior was nowhere to be seen until reincarnated within the Norse realm of Midgard.
Interestingly, before settling on Midgard, the studio considered Egyptian mythology as a setting for the new God of War game.
Creative director Cory Barlog once revealed that his initial pitch was Kratos wandering through a desert, lost in an unfamiliar land. “I think the first pitch I gave was that we wouldn’t even know what was happening,” Barlog said. “So it was Kratos walking through the desert — because we were, in my mind, still doing Egypt initially — wind, sand blowing all over the place as he’s kind of crawling through, and then kind of stands up over a dune and checks out this really fantastic ancient city.”
However, that didn’t happen. Instead, players were treated to a Facebook Messenger text-adventure released ahead of 2018’s God of War, titled God of War: A Call from the Wilds. This served as an introduction to Kratos’ son, Atreus, providing a character setting.
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The God of War reboot spawned further successful sequels, God of War Ragnarok and God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla DLC, continuing and ultimately concluding the Norse story. Maybe the time has come for Santa Monica Studio to revisit the initial idea of Ancient Egypt as the setting.
That said, using Ancient Egypt as a setting back then might have felt too similar to Greece in terms of architecture, temples, gods ruling over mortals, and more. The move to Norse mythology shook things enough, giving Kratos a new world and a deeper story that made the series popular again.
If Santa Monica Studio does explore Egyptian mythology, it could serve as a bridge between the Greek and Norse eras. Ultimately, filling in the gaps of Kratos’ journey before he arrived in Midgard.