God of War director Cory Barlog's next big Sony Santa Monica game is reportedly "not a new IP but it might feel like one" – and where fellow PlayStation studio Naughty Dog pivoted to Intergalactic, it seems it's not sci-fi

Sony Santa Monica, the PlayStation-owned studio behind God of War, is reportedly working on a new game, but no one is sure what exactly that is. We've been getting teased about it since 2019, and we've just now been told that it isn't sci-fi. But that still leaves a lot of possibilities.

"Cory Barlog's game is [Sony Santa Monica's] next big thing," Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier writes on ResetEra. "Last time I spoke to anyone about it (a month or two ago), it was going well."

Barlog, the creative director of both God of War 2018 and its sequel Ragnarok, previously teased what appeared to be a sci-fi project. This would be the studio's first foray back into the genre since its initial outing, the futuristic racing game Kinetica, but Schreier's follow-up post refutes this theory.

"The sci-fi stuff (that people have apparently believed for years now?) is nonsense," he states with finality. So, what is this mysterious new game?

"I'll put it this way: it's not a new IP but it might feel like one," Schreier writes. "Maybe that's why people are confused. Please don't ask me more questions about this - if I wind up reporting more information at any point in the future, it'll be in an article, not on a forum."

"So reinventing an old IP in a way that makes it feel like basically a whole different thing, kinda like they did for God of War," writes one commenter on Reddit. Schreier's description certainly could fit that bill.

We can assume it will be some Sony IP, given the studio is owned by the company, but what, specifically, is completely up for speculation right now. Some are suggesting it will be Jak 4, which I would love, but that would probably very much be a sci-fi game. For now, we'll have to make do with this Jak & Daxter-inspired retro platformer.

Maybe Santa Monica will have a crack at Sly Cooper, the thieving raccoon game Insomniac has left in the past in favor of superheroes? With Naughty Dog and Sucker Punch, the original Jak and Sly studios, respectively busy with Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet and Ghost of Yotei, perhaps Sony will shuffle some IP around.

While we wait to learn more, check out all the confirmed upcoming video games of 2025 that you have to look forward to.