God of War Developer's New IP Could be Another Third-Person…

Summary

Santa Monica Studio may be working on another third-person action game, showcasing its expertise in the genre once again.
A job listing for an Encounter Designer suggests that the new game may involve combat encounters in a 3rd person action game.
Fans can anticipate Santa Monica Studio to continue its success in the third-person action genre, possibly with a new IP in the future.

God of War creator Santa Monica Studio's next game may turn out to be yet another third-person action game, similar to its past releases, as per a job profile recently published by the company. Over the course of its widely acclaimed God of War games, the Sony first-party studio has honed the craft of creating engaging third-person action titles and has emerged as one of the console giant's key developers.

For most of its existence, Santa Monica Studio, which was founded in 1999, has focused virtually all of its resources on the God of War franchise. Since the series' debut in 2005, all the six games that the developer has shipped till now have been God of War titles. In fact, the only time it worked on a different IP was in 2001 when the PS2 exclusive racing game Kinetica came out. Earlier in August, a social media post indicated that Santa Monica Studio may finally be moving onto a new IP. Now, certain new information about its next project has surfaced, giving a clearer picture of what to expect.

Santa Monica Studio's New IP Rumors Would Be a Logical Progression After God of War

It's been recently rumored that Santa Monica Studio is working on its first new IP in over two decades, and that would make a whole lot of sense.

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By Cameron Swan

As per a job listing on Santa Monica Studio's website, the American developer is looking to hire an Encounter Designer, with a preference for those who have previous experience in "building and tuning combat encounters" for a "3rd person action game." Moreover, the role apparently involves handling things like where characters are placed in the game's world, when a wave of enemies is triggered, among other responsibilities. Interestingly, the job description also mentions that the work is related to a "new unannounced game" but doesn't confirm if it is an entirely new IP or the next chapter in the God of War lineup.

God of War Studio Looks to Expand its Footprint in the Third-Person Action Genre

For a developer that has landed multiple hits in the third-person action genre, starting from the original God of War to God of War Ragnarok, it won't be wrong to say that it has virtually mastered the art. Although most of that success has come from one franchise, Santa Monica Studio has still innovated fairly throughout its journey with Kratos, even giving the series a fresh direction in 2018's God of War. With the recent job listing strongly hinting at the studio taking another dip in its genre of expertise, it looks like Santa Monica Games is set to use its highly successful formula in making third-person action games yet another time.

Given the developer's history, it is exciting news for fans if Santa Monica Studio is really sticking to what it does best. It may be even more exciting for some fans if the rumors of the next game being a new IP come to be true as well. Once God of War Ragnarok's PC port is out, fans can expect the unannounced game to take center stage in future rumors revolving around the Sony-owned studio.

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