In an interview with IGN, Sony Santa Monica's David Hewitt admitted the team's scaled back on the violence towards women in God of War: Ascension. The team is of the mind that showing such a thing would make a statement and define the character in a way that doesn't befit Kratos. "There are some things we've pulled back from. I think where this has been an issue is with violence against women - the team's pulled back from some of that and assessed that a little more carefully," Hewitt admitted. "There are certain things that carry has a different kind of resonance that we don't want to get into. This isn't about statement-making in that regard. It's about fleshing out this character."

The overall interview focuses not just on violence on women, but violence in general. As one of the most criticized games of E3 in this regard, Hewitt justifies God of War: Ascension's body count by saying Kratos doesn't languish in the slaughter, nor does he particularly enjoy it. Kratos is constantly pushing forward, moving toward his goal of revenge, so Hewitt doesn't feel the violence is particularly glorified.