God of War devs “crunched like motherf*****s” across the duology, but sequel’s “crunch was even worse than the first one”, reveal devs

God of War 2 Kratos standing in front of Kratos on the Pegasus

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March 24 2026

Sony Santa Monica’s original God of War was pretty much the highest-quality feeling console game when it released. A late generation title, although not as late as its 2007 sequel, God of War pushed the PlayStation 2 to its absolute limits.

In an interview with Retro Gamer magazine, lead coder Tim Moss detailed the insane crunch that the team suffered to get both of the action games out on the PlayStation 2. While the original game released in 2005, it started development way back in 2001.

Moss explained that the team “didn’t start with the idea that it would ultimately take four years” of development. (Thanks, GR.) “We crunched like motherf*****s,” he said. “We were young and enthusiastic, and we didn’t know any better, so we worked hard and kept moving the deadline.” When the game finally released, it was an instant hit.

The programmer explained that crunch development was just normal at the time, explaining “that was the way it got done”. After spending four years on the first game, however, the team now had to deliver the sequel in just two years, releasing after the PlayStation 3 was already on store shelves.

“We made God of War II in two years,” the developer said, “but really most of the game was finished in the nine months up to its completion”. Moss explained that the game did reuse a lot of what was already made for the first game, but set pieces like the iconic Pegasus sequence was a huge hassle to create. “It was completely different than everything else,” he said. “Really, it was asking for something that was slightly outside the capabilities of the engine that we had.”

With God of War 2, the developer admits that crunch was dire, even compared to the original. “We were very time pressured,” he said. “I mean the crunch was even worse than the first one.” Nevertheless, Sony Santa Monica delivered God of War 2 to even more acclaim than the original, and immediately started work on the third game which would release just three years later with a generational leap in quality. God of War: Ascension would then release just another three years later.

Right now, Sony Santa Monica is working on a full remake of the original God of War trilogy, presumably for PlayStation 5. Currently in development at the studio without a public release window, the trilogy will also bring back Kratos’ original voice actor to fill our eardrums with his iconic screams.

About The Author

Lewis White

Lewis White is a veteran games journalist with over a decade in the field. Starting with beloved Xbox website ICXM/XboxMAD, Lewis became the Gaming Editor at MSPoweruser before becoming the Editor in Chief of StealthOptional and Gfinityesports. Lewis later jumped to By Gamers For Gamers where he jumped to become EIC of VideoGamer and the host of the New VideoGamer Podcast prior to the website’s acquisition.

Over the years, Lewis has also seen long-form investigative pieces published in outlets such as Eurogamer, PCGamesN, Wireframe, Retro Gamer, Nintendo Life, and EDGE. Now, as the Editor in Chief of FRVR Blog, Lewis strives to bring the same level of quality journalism with interview-led content to the site in both written and audio form with the FRVR Podcast.

With a First Degree BA Hons in Games Journalism and Public Relations, Lewis has been a stable part of the British games press for over a decade, and has frequently displayed his love of Halo, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and other games pretty much everywhere he’s worked. And FRVR is no different.

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