'God of War IV' to Return Late Next Year (RUMORS)

The sword-swinging anti-theist, Kratos, may be back in a new God of War game late in 2012.

The insight comes from New Zealand Amazon-like retailer, MightyApe, who listed God of War IV with an estimated release date of Sept. 28, 2012. The post has since been taken down, but thanks to the wonders of the Internet the genie is already out of the bottle.

The God of War series is a popular hack-and-slash video game franchise staring the fallen Spartan warrior, Kratos. In the first game he sought vengeance against Ares, the Greek god of war, for the deaths of his wife and daughter. In later games, Kratos takes the fight to other Greek gods leaving a trail of dismembered mythical beasts in his wake. If you ever wondered why you haven't seen a unicorn or a mermaid, it's probably because Krotos had ripped them all apart with his bare hands. Though Kratos's main means of dispatching enemies are the Blades of Chaos, twin swords attached to chains, which allows him to swing the weapons around.

Sony has not confirmed the game is in development, but there have been a few other signs around the net. A job listing on a recruitment site, Creative Heads, suggests a few clues that the new game may be in development. The job is for Sony's Santa Monica studio, which developed the three previous God of War games.

But we have only rumors to go on for now. And we'll check back as more details for the game float to the surface.