Still playing God of War? Yeah, me too. Before Kratos’ face made a rugged return, however, it appeared that the death blow was about to be struck on single-player games. Even now, the likes of Fortnite, PUBG and even the likes of Destiny 2 are meaning fewer and fewer solo experiences matter. God of War director Cory Balrog isn’t so sure about that, though…
Speaking to IGN in the wake of God of War’s huge success, Balrog reveals that he believes single-player games always have their death a little big exaggerated, and the cycle goes on.
“Single-player games are the phoenix at this point,” explains Balrog. “We go through the ebb and flow. Games change by the different creatives that get involved and say, ‘I have this crazy idea.'”
Of course, there’s still room for both single-player and multiplayer games – even if the glare shines brightest on battle royales for the time being. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that anything else goes away,” Balrog says, “It simply says that’s the thing we’re paying attention to”
So, single player games are here to stay and, if Balrog has his way, that won’t change any time soon.
In fact, he won’t work on anything but story-based games, mirroring the thoughts of many an old-school gamer by stating: “I don’t want to work on any games that don’t have some kind of story component because that is the draw for me. Competition doesn’t drive me. It’s not to say that competition is bad, it’s not to say that competitive games are bad because I love that those that exist, but it’s not my thing.”
Rest easy, Kratos. Your work isn’t done yet – but your single-player brethren are going to have to pick up the pieces to ensure battle royales don’t rule the roost until the next time Kratos manages to draw an axe in anger.
