God of War trilogy developer Stig Asmussen departs Sony Santa Monica

God of War trilogy developer and God of War 3 game director Stig Asmussen has left Sony Computer Entertainment Santa Monica Studio, a representative from Sony Computer Entertainment America confirmed to Polygon following a report by IGN.

"SCEA can confirm that Stig Asmussen is no longer with Santa Monica Studio," the statement reads.

Asmussen joined the development studio behind the God of War franchise in 2003. His time at the company saw him work as an environment artist on the first God of War, as art director for God of War 2 and then as creative director for God of War 3. God of War 3 design director Todd Papy took over the role of game director for the next game in the franchise, God of War: Ascension, before leaving to later join Crytek.

Sony did not comment if Asmussen left Sony Santa Monica when it experienced a reduction in workforce late last month or if he was working on the new IP that was canceled alongside the layoffs. Former Sony Santa Monica lead level designer Jonathan Hawkins stated on Twitter at the time that a new IP was canned, writing "The saddest & most important part is the game I was creating for the player that will never be played."