God Of War Ragnarök pays tribute to dev who died during production

How’s your God Of War Ragnarök playthrough coming along? I spent the vast majority of this weekend buried in the game, taking the opportunity to explore some of Ragnarök’s side quests - or favours as they’re called - after mainly ploughing through a huge chunk of the main story up until now. If you hadn’t heard, God Of War Ragnarök is a pretty chunky game.

All in all, Ragnarök is thought to be around 40 hours in length, comprising around 20 hours of main story and 20 hours of extra side quest style content. One of those side quests is titled ‘Across The Realms,’ and if you’ve stumbled across this favour, you may not know that it actually pays tribute to a developer who unfortunately passed away during production.

Take a look at God Of War Ragnarök’s incredible opening boss fight below.

This is your spoiler warning. I will be addressing the plot of ‘Across The Realms’ in the remainder of this article, although this doesn’t relate to the main plot of the game. With that out of the way, ‘Across The Realms’ explores the relationship between Jari and Somr, a couple who Mimir tells us once travelled across the realms together. Players will find The Eternal Campfire and will then be tasked with sourcing a number of ingredients from, you’ve guessed it, across the realms.

Unlike most tales in the game, the story of Jari and Somr doesn’t stem from norse mythology. It’s actually based on two Santa Monica Studio devs, Sam Handrick and Jake Snipes. The couple met at the studio in 2019 and soon began dating. Shortly after that, they became known at work for bringing baked goods into the studio that the couple had made together.

Tragically, Snipes passed away in 2020 due to complications with his epilepsy. Following the release of the game, Handrick revealed that he pitched ‘Across The Realms’ as a tribute. He wrote, “You may have noticed the first sign of it in these hearts scattered across the realms. The story of them goes back to a man I love more than anything. [...] Jake died in 2020, due to his epilepsy. I was heartbroken. I still am. I will always be. I spent months hardly wanting to be alive. But when I returned to Ragnarök, I wanted it to be everything he deserved. And I hoped I could leave some piece of him within it.”

He continued, “I asked if we could include a memorial to Jake. I told Eric and the team about Jake's suggestion of our initials carved into a heart. And he and the team returned with that and something even more special. A story of two men who find each other in an often cruel world, and who find a place to belong simply with each other. I wanted this story to be one many queer people know: journeying through a world that doesn't always understand you to find a place that truly feels like home.”

“And sometimes that place is simply a person. And something as simple as a recipe can be a link back to that home,” Handrick added. “This fire never stops burning. Through the coldest days, through the nights you don't want to live through. It will stand in this world we at Santa Monica Studio created for all of time, carrying the story of a man in whom I found something unnamable. Something I still carry now.” I think we can all agree, this is a beautiful tribute. You can read the full thread from Handrick above.