Kratos is coming: here's why Sony will show God of War PS4 at E3 2014

Will Sony show God of War PS4 at E3 2014? SCE Santa Monica itself seems to be teasing it, but there are plenty of reasons to put your faith in Kratos.

It's time for a first-party next-gen blockbuster.

Do you remember when God of War 3 hit PlayStation 3 and suddenly it went from being an also-ran console to a piece of tech you actually wanted to own? It was a lot more complicated than that, of course, with Sony proving itself flexible and determined in turning the PS3's fortunes around, but God of War 3 was basically the first "proper" PS3 game.

I don't think the PS4 has that yet. InFamous: Second Son is pretty good, maybe even great, but I wouldn't call it mind-blowing. It has been a system-seller, but it doesn't have the pull the God of War franchise has.

A big proper God of War game could do a lot for the PS4 - a console that's already doing pretty well without it. This is the first E3 after the PS4's launch, and having gotten through the launch window slush - Knack and the like going on the same pile as PS3 launch titles like Folklore - it's time to show us the big, heavy-hitting franchises we're hungering for. Sony knows that as well as you and I do.

What else could SCE Santa Monica be doing?

Every time we ask questions about what SCE Santa Monica is doing, Sony politely points to about a dozen things. It's helping Ready At Dawn with The Order: 1886, Honeyslug with Hohokum, and The Chinese Room with Everybody's Gone to the Rapture. It provides ongoing support for PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. We've been told that it works with SCE Worldwide Studios to aid teams from all over the world by lending its tech and expertise, if not taking an active design role.

But you know what? SCE Santa Monica is really a big studio. Sticking a finger in every Sony pie isn't enough to keep it occupied. It has to be doing something in there.

"Maybe it's working on a new IP!" you cry. Indeed, imaginary Internet commenter. It might be. In fact, we're pretty sure it has been - but that it was cancelled, resulting in lay-offs.

So what is it doing now? It's doing God of War PS4. Obvs.

Sony's got a big hole in its line-up - again.

Listen. We don't actually know what was cancelled at SCE Santa Monica, but the rumours suggest it was something really big, with up to 150 staff on board, and that it was Sony's big E3 2014 reveal. We also don't know what Sony's plans were for the release of this big new IP, but again, rumour has it was rebooted and therefore delayed multiple times - which certainly would explain a number of mysterious gaps in Sony's release schedule in recent years (Where was 2013's big end of year release, hey? Don't tell me it was PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale; I'm not mental).

Sony not only needs a big next-gen hit, it needs something to replace this missing project. God of War seems the obvious choice. It's something Sony already knows how to do, and already has the talent on board. For example:

Cory Barlog is back.

David Jaffe seems to have lost all interest in the God of War series, and wasn't involved in the last few releases, but long-time leader Cory Barlog is back at SCE Santa Monica. If you happen to have the successful director of God of War in-house, why wouldn't you get him on board? Sony may have had to offer Barlog various passion projects on the side to keep his interest, but there's nothing to indicate it wouldn't cut such a deal.

Sony has the people and a hole in its schedule. But other clues point to a God of War PS4 reveal at E3 2014; learn more on the next page.

God of War: Ascension was filler.

Now look, nobody's saying God of War: Ascension wasn't a great game - it wasn't an instant classic, but it certainly exactly review badly - but it wasn't life changing. Dropping in the crowded third quarter of 2013, rather than popping up as a Chrimbo stocking filler, it made a splash but not a tsunami, because despite its much-touted multiplayer mode it was basically more of the same.

Is the next God of War likely to be more of the same? You betcha. But it will also be more of the same with the power of next-gen grunt behind it, allowing for much greater scope of design; think much larger continuous environments and puzzles, many more enemies on screen, that sort of thing. With a big next-gen launch, Sony has the chance to push the envelope, to take the series in new directions - or just to do what it's always done in bigger and better than ever before.

Sony satisfied fans' hunger for Kratos with Ascension, but a formulaic iteration - as high quality as it was - just served to keep them quiet while Sony Santa Monica turned its attention to the real God of War sequel. Which brings us to:

God of War: Ascension was a prequel.

You know what prequels are for? Keeping people busy while you get on with making the next instalment in the series. Come on. We all know it. Prequels can be brilliant, but they can't add too much to a game's canon, or move the plot forward, without upsetting existing fans. With a closely guarded property like God of War, Sony had to be pretty conservative. It, and you, are both just waiting for the sequel to get things moving again.

You don't do a prequel to end a series, either. Sony's never given any indication God of War would end, of course, but if it weren't planning a big sequel years in advance then popping out a prequel is a weird move. If Ascension had been just another dull sequel, then right now we might be asking questions about the franchise's future. But a trilogy followed by a prequel? That just screams "really big sequel to come". or "reboot", I guess.

God of War is ready for rebooting.

Yeah, I know you don't want it to happen. But if there was ever a time to do it, it's when you can give the whole thing a massive visual overhaul.

God of War's formula was conceived of in the PS2 era, and it has aged; it doesn't take advantage of new technology as well as newer genres do. I'm not saying we're going to see God of War: First Person Brawler, but expect something with connected, open worlds and other whizz bang features. If it's introducing significant new gameplay features, Sony may as well go the whole hog and reboot completely.

Plus, if you count all the portable games (and you should; they're pretty good), then the God of War story is starting to groan a bit at the seams. Eventually the weight of so much canon become restrictive, and limits creativity. These things have a lifespan. That's precisely why reboots happen. Just be grateful it's happening a bit slower than with Spider-man, for example.

What do you want from the next God of War? What else are you hoping to see at E3 2014?