Vital God Of War Programmer Passes Away

The 2018 "God of War" was the Game of the Year award winner for plenty of reasons. As one of the best games of 2018, it had to do a lot right to earn the title. The game was both a faithful addition to the series and a close-to-perfect representation of the action genre at the time it was released. That action was spearheaded by the Leviathan Axe, Kratos' weapon, which was created by George Mawle. Sadly, the news of George Mawle's passing was shared by friends and colleagues via Twitter after his death on September 2.

Mihir Sheth, a previous co-worker from Sony Santa Monica, shared a lot about Mawle's life on Twitter, including some of the work he did for "God of War." According to Sheth, Mawle was the genius behind the Leviathan Axe as well as "twirling the chains of the Blades of Chaos." Sheth shared an in-depth Twitter thread about his experiences with Mawle, including Mawle's "Furious George" nickname and Mawle's home theater that everyone loved.

Others were quick to join in on lamenting Mawle's passing, praising his infectious energy and "warmth." His career was an iconic one, and many people had a lot to say about his character.

Mawle's career included more than just "God of War" — he also worked on titles like "Crash of the Titans" and "Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z."

One of his co-workers at Sony Santa Monica, Sam Hendrick, shared memories of Mawle excitedly sharing his passion projects, including programming GameBoy Advance games. Hendrick also brought up one heart-warming point: "As a kid just starting out [Mawle] was the dev I wanted to be."

All of Mawle's games weren't instant successes, which Hendrick pointed out, he loved each one. Sheth and Hendrick both explained how much the success of "God of War" meant to Mawle because Mawle genuinely enjoyed the things he worked on.

Mawle's legacy as a game developer will live on as "God of War: Ragnarok" releases, which had more anticipation than "Halo Infinite" at one time. While Mawle wasn't on the team for the next "God of War" title, his work in the previous game will certainly be felt in the next addition to the series.

Fans can also experience Mawle's genius again in the huge update for "God of War" for PlayStation 5. Who knows — with almost 50% of people wanting HBO to make a series for "God of War," fans might even see the infamous Leviathan Axe pop up in other mediums as well.