God of War Ragnarok developers should “crunch like motherf***ers,” says the series creator

God of War Creator David Jaffe has said he hopes God of War Ragnarok Developers are “crunching like motherfuckers” ahead of the game’s November 2022 launch, insisting “this is how greatness comes”.

Jaffe’s controversial comment was made in response to a tweet from G4 host Indiana “Frosk” Black, who tweeted that she hoped developers weren’t crunching to meet the newly announced November release date. Jaffe, who directed the first two God of War games for PS2, chimed in to say he wants “every bit of spit, polish and love” in the last two months leading up to release, which the developers are saying “Convince” producer team can hire.

Jaffe wants “every bit of spit” to go into God of War Ragnarok

I hope they crunch like motherfuckers I hope it wasn’t a constant crunch. But those last 2 months or so before the doors slam? I want them to have every bit of spit, polish, + love that they can convince the producing team to use. This is how greatness is made. https://t.co/2nw6DTc2de

— DAVID SCOTT JAFFE (@davidscottjaffe) July 7, 2022

Crunch in Gaming has been widely criticized after a series of reports detailed the extremely harsh working conditions developers face in order for a game to reach its release date. Rockstar Games was one such example after a report from Kotaku showed staff working long hours to get Red Dead Redemption 2 onto shelves.

Responding to a response in which he branded his view of game development as “outdated,” Jaffe said it’s “not for everyone” but that he wants to make a “best-in-breed product.”

Going the extra mile to compete and be the best you can be will never go out of date. Go home at 5pm every night if you want, but for me — whether it was when I was in games or now that I’m streaming — I WANT to make best of breed product. It’s not for everyone. Totally fair.

— DAVID SCOTT JAFFE (@davidscottjaffe) July 7, 2022

God of War Ragnarok producer Cory Barlog also previously responded to Black’s concerns, saying the date was picked as the best outcome for both the team and fans of the series.

I feel like we thought a lot about what date is best and picked the best date for the team, the game and the fans.

— Cory Barlog (@corybarlog) July 7, 2022

After reports of the difficult working conditions at Rockstar and other developers, several studios have bluntly disclosed that their games were not produced with Crunch. Several team members from Insomniac Games revealed that no crunch was used at all in the development of Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, exclusively for PS5, with designer Grant Parker noting, “It’s possible to make a great game without having to Suffer.”

In other news, the developers of the viral toy box FPS Hypercharge: Unboxed have denounced the toxic online abuse by fans. A new Nintendo Switch OLED featuring the Splatoon 3 theme was also unveiled.