What we know about the upcoming God of War sequel (so far)
Ragnarok is coming.
During the Sept. 2020 PS5 games showcase, a sequel to the 2018 God of War was announced through a quick teaser as the "here's one more thing" moment to close the show. I was so excited I could barely comprehend anything that happened afterward, as my coworkers can attest.
In order to keep things simple we're referring to it as God of War 2 here, as Sony has not given an official title for the game yet. When the actual title is confirmed, we'll be sure to update this page. In the meantime, here's everything we know about the untitled God of War 2 so far.
Jump to:- What is God of War 2?
- Wait, it's not called Ragnarok?
- What's the story?
- Is it a PS5 exclusive?
- When is the release date?
God of War 2 is a sequel to the 2018 entry in the God of War franchise being developed by Sony Santa Monica, one of the most revered developers at Sony Worldwide Studios. That title served as a kind of spiritual reboot, with Kratos forced to suffer silently for the sins of his past while attempting to raise his son in the harsh north and seeking to scatter the ashes of his wife.
It also swapped the gameplay from an isometric hack-and-slash viewpoint to a third-person camera, making it more of an action game with light RPG elements. The sequel will presumably follow suit, given God of War's incredible critical and commercial success. If it's anything like the first, this will be one of the best PS5 games.
You can see the teaser in the tweet from the developers at Sony Santa Monica studio below, or at the end of the PS5 showcase.
- Santa Monica Studio Is Hiring (@SonySantaMonica) September 16, 2020
The game may end up being titled God of War: Ragnarok, as the Elder Futhark Norse runes in the teaser image spell out R A G N A R O K, making it all too clear the end all life is near. The image also takes the iconic God of War franchise logo and gives it an icy makeover that almost looks like Jormungandr, the World Serpent.
So God of War 2 isn't called God of War: Ragnarok?Despite seemingly everyone on the internet deciding this game is called God of War: Ragnarok, no, that's not been confirmed to be the official title. Sony officially refers to this game as "New God of War title." Maybe Ragnarok ends up being the subtitle! For now though, that's not the case.
God of War 2 What's the story?
God of War ended with the death of Baldur and the beginning of Fimbulwinter, the harsh winter in Norse mythology that happens just before Ragnarok. A dream or vision that Kratos had upon returning home with his son Atreus (or Loki) indicates that Thor, the God of Thunder, is seeking vengeance for the death of his brother Baldur and sons Magni and Modi.
Meanwhile, the clever and scheming Aesir Allfather Odin has yet to reveal himself but the wise Mimir has warned Kratos and Atreus that Odin is in fact capable of seeing the future and is working frantically to acquire knowledge and magic in order to prevent Ragnarok. As an example, Mimir notes that it's not important how Odin knew several events in the game would take place, it's just important that Odin was right.
The teaser tells us that "Ragnarok is coming," indicating that this game will, at the very least, kickstart the Norse cycle of death and rebirth, as the gods and all things die while new life springs forth. The director of the 2018 game, Cory Barlog, first teased this in a clever Twitter thread (note how the first letter in each of the tweets spells out a message).
There are heavy hints that Faye, the late wife of Kratos, foresaw everything that would happen before her death, though to what end this will lead remains to be seen.
God of War 2 Is it a PS5 exclusive?We now know that the next God of War is coming to PS4 as well as PS5. After touting major games like Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Horizon Forbidden West as PS5 exclusives, Sony revealed after the Sept. 2020 showcase that some of its upcoming games are releasing on PS4. In a similar vein, this upcoming God of War game was initially announced just for the PS5 before Sony Worldwide Studios head Hermen Hulst confirmed in 2021 that it was also coming to the PS4. Naturally, the PS5 version will in some capacity take advantage of the DualSense haptic feedback and adaptive triggers and faster loading thanks to the ultra-fast SSD.
This does mean the game is more accessible to more players, especially since PS5 restocks remain sporadic, so if it had been PS5-only, nowhere near as many players will be able to try it out at first.
At the same time, making the game exclusive to the PS5 would have enabled the team to create gameplay mechanics and an overall experience not possible otherwise.
When is God of War 2's release date?God of War 2 does not have a release date at this time but is currently slated for some time in 2022. The initial teaser ended with "2021," indicating the game is set to release at some point in 2021, barring any delays, which are very possible right now. When Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan spoke in Feb. 2021 about upcoming PlayStation games for the rest of 2021, he mentioned Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart and Horizon Forbidden West but not God of War. Later, when Hulst spoke on numerous PlayStation Studios titles, he confirmed that the next God of War has been delayed to 2022.
This delay was primarily due to performance capture restrictions during the ongoing global pandemic, with Hulst explaining that "...when you're doing performance capture for a lot of cinematics, with multiple actors - that's not so simple to solve. So you've got a choice. You could do it later in the schedule, which could cause you problems. Or you could risk the final quality by doing it in a different way."
"With these things, something's gotta give. It cannot be the quality of our titles, and it surely won't be the health or the wellbeing of our amazing team," Hulst added.
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God of War is a spiritual reboot for the franchise, taking an older Kratos into the frozen north of Norse mythology. Brutal combat meets a strong new storytelling format for the series in one of the best PS4 exclusives available.
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