God of War Boss Cory Barlog Appears Furious After PS5 Game Leak

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Cory Barlog, the director of God of War, is frustrated, and it seems the recent leaks about his new PlayStation 5 game are the cause.

According to a recent and trustworthy report from NateTheHate, Santa Monica Studio is working on a new God of War game. This game will tell a story featuring Kratos’ wife, Faye, who was previously only known through flashbacks and stories.

A source claims the new game will have different gameplay than the previous God of War titles, emphasizing action more than before.

The game is shaping up to be a sprawling adventure drawing inspiration from various mythologies, like those of China and Egypt. We expect to see a full reveal sometime this year, with the game currently slated for a 2027 release.

Cory Barlog Is Not Happy

Although this hasn’t been officially verified, NateTheHate has a strong history of accurate leaks. He recently predicted a new Star Fox game, and Nintendo confirmed it as part of a recent surprise announcement.

And it seems Barlog is not particularly pleased his game has leaked.

Giant Bomb’s Mike Minotti recently questioned on BlueSky why Nintendo would release a Direct presentation without any prior announcement, asking what the advantage of this surprise approach might be.

One user replied: “To own NateTheHate for a week.”

Out of nowhere, Barlog chimed in: “[I] totally support that.”

Why Is Cory Barlog Mad?

I always thought Cory Barlog was the main director on God of War Ragnarok, but apparently Eric Williams was actually the one leading the charge! From what I understand, Barlog jumped onto a new project pretty quickly after the 2018 God of War reboot – he’s been working on something else since then, which is awesome.

It seems this experienced professional has been working on the potential ‘Faye’ project for almost seven years, and likely wanted to keep it under wraps until it was ready to be revealed.

Leaks often don’t tell the whole story. Some people are enthusiastic about the rumored ‘Faye’ project, but others question whether it’s a good use of Santa Monica Studio’s resources, seeing it as an unnecessary spin-off.

The team, led by Barlog, hasn’t been able to fully showcase the game yet because they haven’t released any gameplay videos or images. It might be several weeks or months before we see the game in action, likely due to a planned marketing schedule.

Once a game’s title is announced, the initial excitement fades. The reveal of 2018’s God of War at E3 was a special exception—nobody anticipated such a fresh and compelling take on Kratos. It truly stood out as a memorable event.

How Can Leaks Be Avoided?

It’s not surprising NateTheHate doesn’t appreciate Sony’s marketing tactics, and as someone familiar with the gaming industry, it’s natural he’d share his inside information.

We believe the mystery around gaming fuels a desire to be part of the inside circle. Unlike the film industry, where movies are often announced well before filming begins, gaming keeps things under wraps.

Look, as a gamer, I think a lot of us feel the same way about game announcements. It’s like, studios will drop a logo or a fancy CGI trailer – remember Marvel’s Wolverine from a while back? – and the general reaction is basically, ‘Hold on, just show us gameplay!’ We’d rather they stay quiet until they actually have something solid to reveal, you know?

Keeping a game under wraps for a long time, as Santa Monica Studio has done with their current project, increases the risk of information being leaked.

Okay, so this whole situation is really complicated, and honestly, I don’t think anyone has a perfect answer. I totally get why Cory Barlog is frustrated, but at the same time, we fans are dying to know what the amazing God of War team is working on next! It’s tough to balance respecting their process with wanting to see more from a studio that consistently delivers incredible games.

We’re hoping the game gets officially announced at a State of Play event this summer, so we can finally talk about what it actually is instead of just speculating based on rumors and leaks.

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2026-05-08 17:37