14 DAY TRIAL // Stig Asmussen, the creative director for God of War III, has left Sony Santa Monica after 11 years spent developing one of PlayStation's most popular franchises.
Sony has confirmed the rumors surrounding the God of War III Creative Director's departure, revealing that he resigned from Sony Santa Monica, but without offering any specific reasons for his decision.
The studio has recently undergone a restructuring process that resulted in a considerable number of layoffs, after moving headquarters to a larger venue, and canceling a work in progress title.
Asmussen's career in the gaming industry started back in 1999, when he joined Midway Games as an environment artist. He later joined Sony's Santa Monica studios in 2003, beginning to work on the initial God of War, as lead environment artist, and then was quickly promoted to the position of art director for God of War 2 and subsequently to creative director of God of War 3.
He did not however work on God of War: Ascension, which is the latest internally developed title in the series. Before deciding to leave, Asmussen was rumored to be working on a new intellectual property unrelated to the God of War franchise, for which Sony Santa Monica was supposed to be entirely responsible.
This marks yet another high profile departure from one of Sony's core franchises, following InFamous: Second Son Lead Designer Jaime Griesemer leaving Sucker Punch Productions earlier today.