After God of War’s success, the overlords said “you’re gonna make the second one and you’re gonna do it in half the time and it’s gonna be twice as long with more bosses and enemies”

God of War became an icon of early 2000’s hack ‘n slash games, and after its explosive launch, there was a huge expectation that Sony Santa Monica would deliver a sequel that was bigger and better, but take even less time to develop.

Speaking during a God of War 20th anniversary panel, now-Santa Monica game director Ariel Lawrence reminisces about her time working on the games. “We didn’t know what God of War, the first one, would do,” she says. “When it finally released we were like, ‘Oh wow! Everybody loves it.”