Sometimes they come back. That's certainly true for Cory Barlog, who became famous after being the Lead Animator of 2005's God of War and the Game Director of 2007's God of War II.
He then left Sony Santa Monica in November 2007, only to come back in August 2013 to direct the new God of War game that's being developed for PlayStation 4.
It's been almost four years since that announcement and the game still doesn't have a release date; in fact, Sony Santa Monica is still hiring. Barlog recently said on Twitter that there's nothing particularly wrong, it's just that games are very big and complicated nowadays and require collaboration with many different experts. He then said that things are "good" and God of War is "looking better every day".
nothing wrong, games are just very big, very complicated, require constant collaboration with lots of different experts. not2worry
— Cory Barlog (@corybarlog) April 19, 2017
If I had things I could say I would. Things are good and game is looking better every day!
— Cory Barlog (@corybarlog) April 19, 2017
A few hours ago, he also provided some details on the setting (the story will take place well before the time of the Vikings, so don't expect to see Ragnar Lothbrok) and the level of gore (everything will serve the vision of the story and world).
FUCK, stupid fat fingers. Our story takes place in a time well before the Vikings.
— Cory Barlog (@corybarlog) April 26, 2017
I like everything to serve the vision/story/world. I don’t see GOW as gore for the sake of gore. It just takes place in a very violent time.
— Cory Barlog (@corybarlog) April 26, 2017
God of War for PlayStation 4 will be a complete reimagining of the gameplay series fans have been accustomed to. Kratos is now much older and has a son, Atreus, to mentor in the art of fighting and hunting.
The game will be played from a third-person over the shoulder camera this time around and it will include some RPG elements as well as crafting resources to gather.
With E3 2017, it's fair to expect Cory Barlog's God of War to appear at Sony's press conference. The most optimistic ones even hope for a release date, which has been a long time coming.
Meanwhile, it can't hurt to take a look once again at the stunning E3 2016 gameplay debut - captured at 1080P on a base PlayStation 4 console.