Series creator Santa Monica Studio is not developing the PC port for God of War; instead, Sony hired external studio Jetpack Interactive to lead the charge. God of War’s PC version counts as the fifth first-party PlayStation title to migrate elsewhere. The first of such releases came with Horizon: Zero Dawn‘s port in 2020, followed by a similar rollout for Days Gone earlier this year. In 2022, Steam and Epic Game Store users will also be able to purchase Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection, which packs in Uncharted 4 and The Lost Legacy standalone.
God of War isn’t the first time Sony has outsourced help for a game’s PC iteration. Guerrilla Games partnered with Singapore-headquartered Virtuous for Horizon: Zero Dawn’s post-PlayStation experience. The crew at Iron Galaxy, run by CEO and former Sony executive Adam Boyes, is helming the Uncharted ports. Interestingly, Days Gone’s PC port now seems an exception to the rule, given that creator Bend Studio produced the project in-house.
Though last week’s God of War announcement didn’t specify developer details, Sony representatives later told Ars Technica the PC build is being “overseen” by the Santa Monica team. Full development duties lie, however, with Vancouver-based port house Jetpack Interactive, which Sony supposedly hired in the past to port Orcs Must Die: Unchained to PS4. (While the alleged Sony/Jetpack connection was relayed via Reddit, the official Jetpack website does list SIE as a partner for Orcs Must Die: Unchained alongside the title’s original developer, Robot Entertainment.)
Whether or not PlayStation’s history with Jetpack Interactive bodes well for God of War’s forthcoming arrival on PC remains to be seen. The outsourced Horizon: Zero Dawn port launched in a rather disastrous state, littered with graphical glitches and a whole host of other immersion-breaking bugs. Days Gone fared far better upon its PC release, but, again, Bend Studio handled the project internally.
God of War lands on PC in January, bringing with it several extra bells and whistles. Players diving into the 2018 adventure for the first time can most notably expect true 4K resolution, 21:9 ultra-widescreen support, unlocked frame rate, and mouse and keyboard support. Sony has additionally teased, and shown off, improvements to the lighting and shadows.
God of War is available to play on PS4 and PS5 consoles; the PC port hits Steam and the Epic Games Store on January 14, 2022.
