Culture

God of War director condemns vile rape threat sent to female developer – and he doesn’t hold back

Jun 07 2021
Written by Ed Nightingale

God of War. (Sony)

Cory Barlog, the director of the forthcoming God of War sequel, has hit back at horrendous harassment aimed at a member of the game’s development team after its release date was pushed back recently.

Alanah Pearce, who was hired as a writer on the new PlayStation exclusive, shared a tweet in which she’d received horrendous targeted abuse that blamed her specifically for the delay.

Aside from the ones I got for being hired in the first place, I think this is my first game-dev-related abusive message. I’VE FINALLY BEEN INITIATED, LOOK AT ME GO! 🎉 pic.twitter.com/17jNTGGvSx

— Alanah Pearce (@Charalanahzard) June 4, 2021

Barlog condemned the rape threat, noting that it was his decision to delay the God of War sequel and nobody else’s.

In his own tweet response he said: “You want to be mad at somebody for ANYTHING GOW related – the delay, ps4/5, trolls, subtitle size, Sigrun, whatevs – be angry with me. I made the calls. I did this. Don’t bother the team, they are all very good people doing great work.”

He continued: “every single human at the studio is there specifically because they are f*****g EXCEPTIONAL at what they do. we are better because of them. hell, I am lucky anyone is willing to lend their talent and intellect to my b*****t. for some reason they do and I love them for it.”

every single human at the studio is there specifically because they are fucking EXCEPTIONAL at what they do. we are better because of them.

hell, I am lucky anyone is willing to lend their talent and intellect to my bullshit.

for some reason they do and I love them for it.❤️— golrab of the frost (@corybarlog) June 4, 2021

This kind of abuse from fans is commonplace within the gaming industry, particularly towards women. Barlog’s response is, in the words of Xbox boss Phil Spencer, “what leadership looks like”.

The news of the God of War sequel delay came in an interview with head of PlayStation Studios Hermen Hulst and was later confirmed by Sony Santa Monica.

The decision to push back the highly-anticipated game’s release date is largely due to the pandemic, which has caused issues with access to performance capture and talent, according to Hulst.

A similar issue has held back Horizon Forbidden West, yet where Guerilla are hoping to release that game by the end of this year, the God of War sequel has been pushed into 2022.

It was also confirmed in that interview that both of these games, as well as Gran Turismo 7, will be cross-platform games that will work on both PlayStation 5 and PS4.

While this is likely due to Sony not wanting to drop support for the PS4, especially with PlayStation 5 shortages, it’s also a little disappointing that these new games won’t be showpieces for the new console.

Rape Crisis England and Wales works towards the elimination of sexual violence. If you’ve been affected by the issues raised in this story, you can access more information on their website or by calling the National Rape Crisis Helpline on 0808 802 9999.
Rape Crisis Scotland’s helpline number is 08088 01 03 02.

Readers in the US are encouraged to contact RAINN, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800-656-4673.