God of War: Ragnarok delay reason surprisingly revealed by Kratos actor

The God of War: Ragnarok delay came about because of Kratos voice actor Christopher Judge.

In a tweet earlier today, Judge said "I need to be forthcoming [...] Ragnarok was delayed because of me. August 2019, I couldn't walk. Had to have back surgery, both hips replaced, and knee surgery."

💯 in my feels right now. I need to be forthcoming. This has been approved by no one. To the beloved fandom, Ragnarok was delayed because of me. August 2019, I couldn’t walk. Had to have back surgery, both hips replaced, and, knee surgery. They waited for me too rehab… Cont…September 30, 2021

While Judge claims his surgeries required the game to be pushed from a planned 2021 release date until next year, he implies developer Sony Santa Monica was understanding, suggesting that it waited for the actor to undergo rehabilitation after his surgeries, and offered "nothing but love and support. And Sony Santa Monica has never said a word about the delay and what caused it."

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Judge also revealed, however, that he threatened to quit the role when God of War director Cory Barlog told him he wouldn't be returning for the sequel. Barlog - who is currently acting as Sony Santa Monica's creative director - passed the baton on to God of War veteran Eric Williams. While Judge may initially have been sceptical about the change, it now appears that Barlog managed to bring him round, as he now describes the new director as a "BEAST". Just hopefully not one of the many beasts we'll be fighting in the game, of course.

Back in June, Sony Santa Monica said that the decision to shift the release to 2022 stemmed from a desire to "[maintain] the safety and wellbeing of our team, creative partners, and families," making no specific reference to Judge. Shortly after that, Barlog told fans that the decision to delay the game was his alone, and that fans of the series shouldn't bother the development team over the longer wait.

While we wait for Ragnarok, here are some upcoming PS5 games to pass the time.

I'm GamesRadar's Managing Editor for news, shaping the news strategy across the team. I started my journalistic career while getting my degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick, where I also worked as Games Editor on the student newspaper, The Boar. Since then, I've run the news sections at PCGamesN and Kotaku UK, and also regularly contributed to PC Gamer. As you might be able to tell, PC is my platform of choice, so you can regularly find me playing League of Legends or Steam's latest indie hit.