SpaceX Begins IPO Preparations as Wall Street Banks Line Up for Advisory Roles 
Oracle Stock Surges After Hours on TikTok Deal Optimism and OpenAI Fundraising Buzz 
MetaX IPO Soars as China’s AI Chip Stocks Ignite Investor Frenzy 
OpenAI Explores Massive Funding Round at $750 Billion Valuation 
Apple App Store Injunction Largely Upheld as Appeals Court Rules on Epic Games Case 
Apple Explores India for iPhone Chip Assembly as Manufacturing Push Accelerates 
Australia’s Under-16 Social Media Ban Sparks Global Debate and Early Challenges 
TikTok U.S. Deal Advances as ByteDance Signs Binding Joint Venture Agreement 
Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency 
Evercore Reaffirms Alphabet’s Search Dominance as AI Competition Intensifies 
Nvidia Weighs Expanding H200 AI Chip Production as China Demand Surges 
SoftBank Shares Slide as Oracle’s AI Spending Plans Fuel Market Jitters 
iRobot Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Amid Rising Competition and Tariff Pressures 
Amazon in Talks to Invest $10 Billion in OpenAI as AI Firm Eyes $1 Trillion IPO Valuation 
Oracle Stock Slides After Blue Owl Exit Report, Company Says Michigan Data Center Talks Remain on Track 
Trump Signs Executive Order to Establish National AI Regulation Standard 
Fandoms can be wonderful. They can often be a roiling maelstrom of passion and love of movies, games, or events that could lead to amazing things. However, they can also be toxic and a haven of intolerance, as some hardcore fans of the God of War franchise have shown. The upcoming reboot for the PlayStation 4 isn’t even out yet and criticism is already pouring in from so-called dedicated followers of the property. God of War director Cory Barlog has therefore decided to respond.
Speaking to Kotaku recently, Barlog addressed the concerns that these fans with the upcoming game. He specifically talked about the criticisms that hardcore players have been throwing at him and his team for the changes that they made with God of War in making it over-the-shoulder third-person view, revamping the combat, and making the main character Kratos less of the rage machine that he was in the original games.
“I know there are a lot of people who are out there saying, 'It's totally different. They're changing a lot of things. Hashtag Not My God Of War. Hashtag Cancel My Pre-Order. But I think a lot of people have to play it,” Barlog told the publication.
“We've been very restrictive of the information and what we're showing visually, and part of that is my paranoia. I want people to experience this game as a whole. Everybody who made this game - or a good portion of this team - has been a part of God of War from the very beginning. Nothing has changed cynically or under pressure or just willy-nilly. All of us put a lot of heart and soul into this game, and the DNA of what this franchise is still pumps through the blood of this game.”
As Screen Rant notes, it’s encouraging that the core of the game is still God of War through and through. Although most who have already seen what the title is about in person came away impressed – unlike those who complain even though they have only seen the footage and such – it’s still sad when a game strays so far from its roots that it becomes unrecognizable.
