In March, Sony Computer Entertainment America held a lavish launch party in San Francisco for God of War II. In the course of the celebrations, Cory Barlog, the game's outspoken director, dropped some none-too-subtle hints that the series would be coming to the PlayStation 3 along with force feedback technology.

"If we were to do a God of War III on the PS3..." said Barlog to the enthusiastic crowd, before changing pace midsentence. "We're excited about the potential--maybe, no commitment, no announcement or anything like that--to maybe have [God of War hero] Kratos in 1080p with the Sixaxis and vibration. Vibration is coming back to the PS3, that's pretty cool, huh?"

At the time of Barlog's outburst, SCEA reps would comment on neither a rumble-enabled Sixaxis nor the possible appearance of God of War III on the PS3. Now, less than two months after the Dual Shock 3 was unveiled at the 2007 Tokyo Game Show, Sony has officially confirmed that God of War III is indeed in development exclusively for the PS3 at SCEA's Santa Monica studio. It provided no further details on the game.

Unfortunately, the God of War III announcement was tempered by some bittersweet news. SCEA has confirmed that Barlog himself no longer works at the company's Santa Monica studio. "We are grateful for his work and creative vision for the critically acclaimed God of War franchise," the company said in a brief statement in which it expressed faith in the remaining members of the GOWIII and God of War: Chains of Olympus teams.

Barlog's departure remains shrouded in mystery. So far, he has shared no information about his future plans on his personal blog, where he last posted in mid-October. His exit comes just under four months after God of War series creative director David Jaffe announced he was leaving SCEA's employ after 14 years. Jaffe maintains close ties with Sony, and his indie studio Eat Sleep Play's first project is a PlayStation 2 port of the PSP game Twisted Metal: Head On.