Highlights
- Bonnie Jean Mah, a game director and writer, has joined Santa Monica Studio as a Narrative Director, hinting at a potential new sci-fi game.
- Santa Monica Studio, known for the God of War series, has been acquiring new talent and teasing an unannounced third-person action game.
- Bonnie Jean Mah has an impressive background, having worked on games like Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine and Gears of War, making her a valuable addition to the studio.
Video game director, writer, and designer Bonnie Jean Mah has joined Santa Monica Studio as a Narrative Director. The news comes from an official post where she posted a selfie of herself alongside a statue of Kratos from the God of War franchise.
Santa Monica Studio is best known for previously developing the mainline titles in the God of War series. Over the past couple of years, the studio has acquired new talent to hone in on future projects, though Santa Monica hasn't officially announced any upcoming titles. There have been teases and job listings, notably one that pertains to an unannounced third-person action game much like God of War. Everything must be taken with a grain of salt, yet a recent announcement may hint at a new sci-fi game from Santa Monica Studio.
God of War Developer Hiring for 'New Unannounced Title'
A number of recent job listings posted by God of War developer Santa Monica Studio hints that it may have a new game in development.
Through an official announcement, Bonnie Jean Mah shared her new job position as a Narrative Director at Santa Monica Studio. She went on to share a selfie of herself and a statue of Kratos, captioned with the news of her joining the team and studio with enthusiasm. The post can be found on Twitter and LinkedIn.
To see what could be in store for Santa Monica Studio's future projects, it's important to look back on some of the work that Bonnie Jean Mah has accomplished. Starting as an owner of Stormchaser Productions, Mah went on to serve as a Narrative Designer for Relic Entertainment/THQ Canada from November 2008 to June 2012. There, she worked on a couple of games from the Warhammer franchise, such as Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine and the canceled Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online; she was also a writer for both games.
Years later, she would move on to Black Tusk Studios (now known as The Coalition) to work on the Gears of War series as a Franchise Narrative Manager, Narrative Designer, and Narrative Producer. She would eventually go back to conduct work for the Age of Empire 4 title at Relic Entertainment as a Senior Designer/Narrative Lead before becoming the Franchise Narrative Director at The Coalition in 2020. Thus, she would sign on to be the Narrative Director at TiMi Studio Group, a subsidiary of Tencent Games. It was at this company that she worked on an "original-IP open world RPG," though no details have been disclosed. She ended her tenure in November 2023 to become Santa Monica Studio's newest Narrative Director.
Bonnie Jean Mah's newest position could suggest that a sci-fi project may indeed be in the works at Santa Monica Studio. Having previously worked with third-person shooters, coupled with the unannounced God of War-like action, it's possible that Santa Monica Studio could be diving into futuristic territory. Writer Alanah Pearce did confirm that the studio was working on a sci-fi game, though players will have to wait until an official announcement is made.
