Recent hints from a God of War developer suggest Santa Monica Studio is developing a new, unannounced game. This article explores the developer's statements and speculates on the studio's potential next project.
Glauco Longhi, a character artist and developer who worked on God of War (2018) and Ragnarok, recently updated his LinkedIn profile. His new entry indicates he's overseeing character development for an "unannounced project" at Santa Monica Studio, having rejoined the studio earlier this year. The profile states he's "Supervising/Directing Character development on an unannounced project, and also helping the studio to continually push and raise the bar on Character Development for videogames."
Santa Monica Studio's creative director, Cory Barlog (director of the 2018 God of War), previously alluded to the studio's involvement in multiple projects. Longhi's profile, coupled with recent job postings for a character artist and tools programmer, suggests the team is expanding significantly.
Speculation points towards a new sci-fi IP, potentially under the direction of God of War 3's creative director, Stig Asmussen. While unconfirmed, Sony's trademark of "Intergalactic The Heretic Prophet" earlier this year fueled these rumors. Previous reports of a cancelled PS4 sci-fi project from the studio also add to the intrigue. However, no official announcements have been made by the developers.