God of War: Ragnarok has just gotten one of the most exciting trailers of the year, and fans have been gathering up all the new information on the game that they can find. The sequel will pick up where 2018’s God of War left off, but that doesn’t mean that Ragnarok won’t have its’ own unique identity. Part of this identity will be Eric Williams, who is taking over the Director’s chair from Cory Balrog. Both directors sat down with IGN to talk about why Williams will be a great fit for the role and how both men have helped each other to make both of their games the best they can be.

One thing the directors talked about both of their roles in building the franchise’s story. Both Cory Barlog and Eric Williams have been working on God of War since the franchise’s very conception. In fact, Barlog was the lead animator of the very first God of War way back in 2005 alongside Williams, who helped design the game’s combat systems. In fact, these two have been part of every mainline God of War game’s development team, meaning that they’ve had more than enough experience with the franchise to craft a great story from its’ bones. Barlog’s experience has already paid in spades, but Williams explained his involvement with the series a bit further: “I’ve worked with every director on the franchise in a different capacity… learning from each one of them, to me it’s just doing right by everyone that’s come before me and taking the franchise in the right direction.”

I just want to pay respect to what we’ve done in the past and still try to keep it fresh for the future at the same time.

Barlog also explained how influential Williams was in pointing the franchise in its’ newest direction. He credits Eric Williams for truly shaking the foundations of what God of War was to craft a new experience with the same bones as its’ predecessors. Breaking down God of War to its’ absolute core was part of what made the 2018 game so fresh and surprising. As a soft-reboot, it managed to not only set up a new world for Kratos to explore, but also tie that world to the games that came before in a natural way. Whereas many franchises fumble when they try to change their core-gameplay, God of War 2018 was a breath of fresh air for the series that elevated it beyond a classic franchise into one of the biggest in the industry. Barlog and Williams both explained how making that leap took the both of them. In William’s own words: “If we’re going to do it, we have to do all of it.”

I feel like if we do the job that I hope that we do, it’ll only enhance the previous game. And the previous game, when you go deeper, will enhance this game.

So, now that Williams is officially at the helm, what exactly will that mean for the sequel? Well, both Barlog and Williams are excited to show off what’s changed, what’s remained and how they’ve mingled together into the new game when God of War: Ragnarok releases 2022 on PS4 and PS5.