At Santa Monica Studio, one our guiding phrases is “we’re fans of our fans.” Whether it’s a reaction to a trailer, a deep-dive lore video, or cosplay – knowing that there is an audience that appreciates all the details in our work motivates us to create something worthy of God of War fans. 

Cosplayers are a huge part of our community and have been since the very first game released in 2005. Over many years we’ve seen how much time, love, and dedication it takes to create a single character. God of War characters especially have many different materials, layers, and details to account for. One thing we’ve learned is that the best starting block for any cosplayer is a good reference of the character they’re portraying!

Once you’ve taken a peek at the new guides, make sure you check out the interview below with Santa Monica Studio Art Director Raf Grassetti on how the team updated the designs of Kratos and Atreus in God of War Ragnarök! 

Official Kratos and Atreus cosplay guides

To show our appreciation for all the God of War cosplayers who have taken on Kratos and Atreus over the years, we wanted to make their updated guides for God of War Ragnarök even more comprehensive than the ones we did for God of War (2018).

We’re worked with our fantastic character artists and writers at SMS, as well as B is for Boy artist Romina Tempest, to create guides that not only give the in-depth references necessary for cosplayers, but also let us play more in the world of God of War by looking at these designs through the lens of our characters.

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Greetings everyone! I’m happy to announce that our newest trailer—Ambition—is now live. Rather than focusing on action as we did in our last reveal, this time we wanted to give the world a more in-depth look at Final Fantasy XVI’s lore and its rich cast of characters—with the Dominants front and center.

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The flames of war spread as Valisthea enters an age of twilight. Where will fate lead the Dominants and what future awaits the realm at the end of this bitter conflict? There are still many more questions to be answered, many more truths to be uncovered.

With regards to development, the team has turned the corner and entered the home stretch, and is currently concentrating its efforts on debugging, tweaking, polishing, and optimization.  

We’ll be back soon with more information about the world of Final Fantasy XVI! For now, please enjoy the new trailer and new insight into two new characters. But first, some additional words from Director Hiroshi Takai.

Clive Rosefield, the main protagonist of Final Fantasy XVI

Hello!

Our third trailer is finally here and jam-packed with exciting new information that provides a better picture of how the game’s setting, lore, and characters tie in with our compelling narrative. Hopefully it was worth the wait!

As the game edges closer to completion, the team has turned its full attention to debugging and final adjustments. Now that things are starting to

What a beautiful day! A beautiful day to surrender to the void… or, as we at Media Molecule have come to know it, The Land Of Lost Dreams. That’s right: this year’s Halloween event, All Hallows’: The Land of Lost Dreams, is available to play in Dreams right now. 

Is there a better way to get in the Halloween spirit than to explore this creepy creative purgatory, filled with strange quests, odd characters and coMmunity-created interactive delights? No. No, there is not. And if you don’t believe us, you should probably boot up Dreams on your PlayStation, then play The Land Of Lost Dreams to either confirm or deny. It’s only fair.

There’s so much to see in The Land of Lost Dreams. Challenge a king to a tabletop game of questionable quality! Get ripped off by odd little robots! Admire cursed trinkets and scream your way through a haunted forest! And maybe – just maybe – escape development hell once and for all…

Need more info about what awaits you there? Well, you’re in luck: we at Media Molecule have come into possession of a tourist brochure that lays out many of The Land of Lost Dreams’ main attractions in unnerving detail. Honestly, this place seems like a weird choice for a ‘holiday destination’, but travel agency D.Tours looks trustworthy enough – they’ve even got a logo. What evil entity ever had a logo? Exactly.

Star Ocean The Divine Force will soon touch down on PS5 and PS4! This action-packed science-fiction RPG presents a bold new vision for the beloved RPG series, with a powerful story, innovative traversal mechanics, and a combat system that’s just… *chef’s kiss.

That said, we suspect that some of you may still be wondering what this game is all about. Read on and we’ll tell you everything you need to know:

It’s the sixth mainline entry in the Star Ocean series…

You may have played a Star Ocean game before – or at least heard of it. The series has been around since 1996 and has won many fans thanks to distinct science-fiction trappings. While many RPGs lean into fantasy tropes, the Star Ocean series embraces space opera wholeheartedly – think spaceships, interplanetary travel, advanced technologies, and the like. Even now it feels very unique in the genre.

Star Ocean The Divine Force is the sixth mainline title in the series and brings with it excitingly fresh ideas, including unparalleled freedom of movement and a blisteringly fast combat system.

…but it’s completely standalone

Similar to other RPG series like Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest, each entry in the Star Ocean series works as a standalone adventure. There’s no need to have played through the previous games to work out what’s going on – the entire narrative from start to finish is contained within the game. Of course, if you are a fan of the previous games, you may spot a reference or two…

It’s an epic adventure that fuses science fiction and fantasy

The adventure begins when starship captain Raymond Lawrence crash lands on the planet of Aster IV. This dangerous world is like stepping into a long-forgotten past for the young spacefarer – people still live in castles, wear plate armor and kingdoms wage war against one other. Joining forces with a warrior princess named Laeticia, he sets off to find the rest of his crew and get off the planet… unaware that he will soon find himself embroiled in a conflict that threatens the entire universe.

The dual protagonist system returns from previous games

At the beginning of your adventure, you’ll be able to choose between two main characters: Raymond or Laeticia. This isn’t just a cosmetic decision – the events that transpire and the allies you can recruit will differ depending on who you play as.

You can play as Raymond …

Raymond is the captain of the merchant vessel Ydas, operating under Lawrence Logistics – a company run by his family. He’s a friendly guy with big hair and a bigger heart. He can be brash and reckless, which often gets himself into trouble – but he’ll throw himself into the heart of danger to protect his friends. He’s a protagonist who’s easy to love.

…or Laeticia

Laeticia is Princess of the Kingdom of Aucerius: a large territory located on the underdeveloped planet of Aster IV. She’s a knight and highly skilled with the dual blades, something that makes her greatly admired by her people.   Laeticia is insatiably curious and her encounter with Raymond opens her eyes to a bigger world than she knows… but more than anything she loves her kingdom and will do whatever she can to protect it.

Hello, I am Konami producer Motoi Okamoto. When it came to reviving Silent Hill, what we saw as most important was to do so together with those who love the series. Silent Hill had been, if you will, ”silent” for many years. Yet, even during that silence, we had been receiving proposals for new entries and remakes. This is truly a franchise that is beloved by so many fans.

Bloober Team was one such team with the most passionate of proposals. They are a studio that truly loves and specializes in horror games. Together with creators who love Silent Hill, for fans who have a special place in their heart for Silent Hill, we have decided to remake Silent Hill 2. To explain more, I will hand it over to Mateusz Lenart, Creative Director & Lead Designer at Bloober Team. 

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The classic returns anew

Silent Hill 2 is a beloved and timeless classic – it’s almost a cliche to say it out loud, but it’s just so true for many of the Bloober Team members. This is also the reason why we approach working on the remake with such great care and respect for the original game. 

With that in mind, one of our primary goals is to preserve the atmosphere that made Silent Hill 2 so exceptional, while also modernizing many aspects of the game’s overall gameplay. We are working closely with the original creators, including Akira Yamaoka and Masahiro Ito, to ensure we’re keeping that unique Silent Hill feel intact.

One of the new elements that you could spot in the reveal trailer is the adoption of an over-the-shoulder camera. With that change we want to immerse players even deeper into the game, make them feel like they are a part of this unreal world, and deliver them a more visceral experience across the board.

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