![Phil Spencer Praises God Of War Director’s Leadership Following The Sequel’s Delay](https://images.purexbox.com/469d2fa0a750d/phil-spencer-praises-god-of-war-directorrs-leadership-following-the-sequelrs-delay.900x.jpg)
Outside of the world of Xbox, one of the biggest upcoming games on PlayStation - God of War 2 - has been pushed back to 2022. It’s an unsurprising move for many, but a small minority have taken the opportunity to verbally attack members of the team at Santa Monica Studios over its delay, which has resulted in the game’s director Cory Barlog stepping in and damning the abuse his team has received. As a result, Xbox head Phil Spencer has shared a few words commemorating Barlog’s leadership.
While we won’t share the abusive messages the team were sent here, Barlog’s tweet surrounding the matter stated any upset fans should be angry with him for the delay. He claimed he made the call for its delay, not the team, and reiterated that they are all doing great work in its development.
“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.”
This response struck a chord with Spencer, who later replied to congratulate Barlog on his leadership standard, adding: “This is what leadership looks like.”
![2Phil Spencer Praises God Of War Director’s Leadership Following The Sequel’s Delay](https://images.purexbox.com/20f521d27f59d/2phil-spencer-praises-god-of-war-directorrs-leadership-following-the-sequelrs-delay.900x.jpg)
No developer or representative should ever be abused for the delay of a game. It’s these delays that have delivered us some of the best games in recent years, and ultimately made for a better product. Games such as Cyberpunk 2077 are clear examples of titles rushed out the door, and studios that step in to not only ensure the game is great, but look after the welfare of their team, should be celebrated.
Gaming industry members such as Spencer and Barlog are clear examples of what developers should be striving for. A healthy working atmosphere and clear communication with fans. While we’ll never see God of War hit Xbox, it’s still fantastic to see the two companies support each other against toxicity within the community and recognise the hard work others are doing to ensure the industry is a safer place.
What do you think about Spencer’s comments? Let us know in the comments below.
Comments 18
I'm a massive fan of Cory Balrog, an amazing talent and a top bloke.
We all love Phil obviously.
This is a great story to start the week 😊
Sometimes, I despise gamers. Great to see when the big wigs reach across the console divide to support each other like this; XBox or PlayStation, they both have to deal with scum purporting to be fans
How sad are some people, that they are giving abuse for a delayed video game. Do you really not have anything else going on in life?
This happens to literally everyone on the internet who does or says anything controversial. It's annoying, sure, but it's hardly a news story at this point in time.
I got a random death threat just this week from some weirdo. I just muted them and that was that. That's just what the internet is. It's no use complaining about it unless you have an actual solution.
Thank you Cory and Phil.
Well done to Cory and Phil for your honesty and support. Some of us appreciate your efforts and the gaming industry as a whole during the Pandemic.
Others are just rude and impatient.
Great leaders need to make the big calls and have the backing of the people above them.
I think it's easier now as Cyberpunk will forever be an example of what can happen, but still, great that Sony allowed it.
Same for Phil Spencer with Halo Infinite as well. Probably even more pressure with that being a launch game with a marketing push that had already begun.
GoW2 day one on Game Pass confirmed. JK. In all seriousness, this is good leadership by Cory and is a great sign the right decisions are being taken with the game.
This is how it should be.
I don't even understand the logic here. For years, I've been a loud critic of Bonnie Ross and Kathleen Kennedy. But they are both studio heads that have been there for years, and I've never directly sent either of them abuse.
Alanah is literally just an employee. Has only been there a matter of months. And it doesn't even look like she's working on GoW 2.
How smooth does your brain have to be?
@Dezzy I wish I was relevant enough to have haters.
It's funny that I'm getting my GoW news on PXB now.
I'm not sure who could possibly be uninformed enough to be surprised enough about GoW2 - 2022. Literally the entire internet called that and took potshots at "2021" since the reveal last June. Who could POSSIBLY be surprised by that? Let alone threatening people you've never met over it.
Remember when CDPR received death threats for delaying CDPR? Because that turned out great.... Maybe gamers that complain on twitter just don't read gaming news. Or can't read at all.
Also, the headline needs to be fixed: "Xbox boss praises GoW Director for Opening Holiday '21 Release Window for Halo"
@GunValkyrie hopefully that's Hellblade 2
I love that he did not take the low hanging fruit approach and mock them for the delay. The MS Xbox team has upped its class quite a bit over the years.
Xbox Boss tries to get positive attention.
@HunterRose Are you new to Xbox?
@gingataisen not at all. I have been a an Xbox user since the OG launch and am one of the original Xbox Live Beta Testers… doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the class from the Xbox team.
@HunterRose Oh. I asked because Phil's always been a classy person. I mean why would he "take the low hanging fruit approach and mock them for the delay"?
@gingataisen more a comment against other companies. I am just happy to see competitors cheering each other on. It is rare in this day and age, both inside and outside gaming.
Classy as ever Phil.
Those sending abuse really need help, completely unhinged!
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