Ranking Every PlayStation Developer From Worst To Best (2020)
5. Santa Monica Studio
Recent Release: God Of War (2018)
Past Highlights: God of War 1-3, Kinetica
In Development: Next God Of War (rumored)
Originally Santa Monica was a support team aiding second-party games for PlayStation consoles (a role that San Mateo Studio exclusively does now). The company has had a hand in everything from Twisted Metal: Black, to Fat Princess, to Flower.
Sony gave them a chance to create an original property in 2001 with the easily forgotten sci-fi racer Kinetica. They went back to the drawing board and returned with 2005's God Of War, a bloody, gripping and exhilarating hack-n-slash title that reinvented the entire action/adventure genre.
God of War 2 was arguably even better, and God of War 3 a highlight title for the troubled PS3 console... but after that, the franchise sputtered out, with Kratos' endless hissy fit becoming tired.
Troubled times also hit the studio, with God of War: Ascension flopping, and an ambitious new IP (rumored to be a sci-fi epic) getting scrapped after a lengthy development. Lay-offs soon followed in 2014.
Things were at a crossroads for the company, so they took a gamble, reinventing God of War into a deeply involving, mature tale with incredible action. The 2018 reboot won unanimous praise, big-time sales, and a flood of awards.
It put them back on top, and while they are not as diverse as the other first-party devs, and basically are the 'Kratos company', who's to say that's a bad thing?