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With Aaron Kaufman as our guide, we were shown around Santa Monica Studio! If you’re unfamiliar with the name, you should know they are the ones behind the 2018 God of War! The Los Angeles Studio is also under Sony Interactive Entertainment. The studio recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, as well. Well, let’s get on with the tour, shall we? Peruse all the image galleries to get some of the experience.
You’ve seen a little of the entrance here. The God of War art greets you, along with a framed maps of The World, the… world of God of War. It’s not just the latest entry, they’re all connected here! See if you can spot the various locations you’ve visited in your playthroughs!
Don’t miss out on the Kratos and Atreus statue! It’s not a bronze statue, but a 3D-printed one. Look at all the details on them! The original Kratos is also hanging out here. Quite a different look from his 2018 incarnation, don’t you think?
There’s plenty of other fixtures and awards around too. A replica of Kratos’ Leviathan Axe is mounted on the wall. A commissioned Marius Hermann Lego brick is on display as well. You can see fanart around the space, with the one shown here being from DemiPixellated! Each game has their own colour palette, and they’re set to the Santa Monica Studio logo. Without looking at the names, do you know which is which? Last but not least is the Ten Year celebratory board, signed by staff.
Let’s focus on a few of the figurines here too. There’s Kratos and Atreus engaged in combat, as part of their quest as we see in the game. Various creatures make their appearance, with their concepts and modelers credited. Have you seen some of this lore before?
Last but not least, there are areas for gaming, of course! You have your regular gaming room, chock full of discs and consoles. You also have the ping-pong room, which is decorated with plates of games the studio has developed over the years in chronological order.
The big board in the center is magnetic, and when you flip it over, you’ll see signatures of the staff! Likewise, game plates elsewhere are surrounded by staff portraits, also signed. There’s a certain “ritual” of sorts at Santa Monica. The studio members will touch them, before these fixtures are put up. Studio culture is well and alive here!
Once you’re done, stop by the cafeteria for some free drinks! That’s about most of it for the Santa Monica Studio tour. The studio is on plenty of social media, so follow the accounts written on the board here, accompanied by staff illustrations. We hope you’ve enjoyed the tour!
May there be yet more great games to come. See you next time.
