God of War: Ragnarok is coming, and you can expect it to land on PS5 consoles in 2021.
Sony dropped a teaser for the God of War sequel at the end of its price / release date reveal event, confirming what we all hoped for: a return of Kratos and his son, and still in the world of Norse mythology visited in the previous game.
We’ve had little to go on in the past few years since the landmark God of War game first launched on PS4 – earning our Game Of The Year accolade at the time – other than the series’ creative director Cory Barlog dropping hints about a… colder location (via GamesRadar).
There’s still not much know about the game, other than that it is coming, and it will be called Ragnarok – the name for a cataclysmic series of events in Norse mythology, which is fitting for a game where you’re almost certainly going to be wreaking havoc and killing Norse gods. (Yes, it’s also the name of a Marvel movie – and the name of a Netflix series. It’s a cool word, ok?)
So, with that out of the way, we’ve gathered together all the news and rumors surrounding the God of War sequel for your consideration right here.
God of War: Raganarok release date
We don’t know a firm release date for the game, but we do know it’s coming in 2021.
The brief teaser suggests gameplay isn’t ready to be shown off, which suggests to us that we’re looking at late 2021 rather than early 2021 – and probably after Horizon Forbidden West, which we’ve had a much more substantial look at. Sony generally likes to stagger its exclusive games.
God of War: Raganarok trailer
The trailer dropped right at the end of Sony’s live stream event in September, and shows off a brief logo and the words “Raganarok is coming”.
pic.twitter.com/VvHuaCKgGnSeptember 16, 2020
God of War: Raganarok news and rumors
PS5 Showcase
God of War: Ragnarok was briefly teased at the end of the PS5 Showcase event on September 16, where Sony also announced the price and release date of the next-gen PS5 console.
Cory Barlog also changed his Twitter header to a redacted latinate script – and his Twitter avatar to a picture of ice. It suggests we’re moving further north, and into colder climes…
Job Listings
As spotted by GamesRadar, SIE Santa Monica Studio posted job listings last year for a number of roles across its programming, art, design, and tech art teams – with one listing clearly citing the God of War reboot.
Applicants for Senior Combat Designer “Must have knowledge of God of War (2018) and be able to speak in depth about the combat systems, mechanics and enemies”.
A listing for Facial Blend Shape Character Artist also specifically mentions “next-gen videogame platform experience” for the role: something that should whittle down prospective applicants to relatively few animators, given that the next generation of consoles have yet to launch.
The waters were muddied slightly with a Senior Gameplay Animator posting, which asks for someone “to help us push the boundaries of action and combat movement and set the bar for gameplay feel on the PS4“.
God of War PS4 theme
Back in April 2019, a new dynamic theme appeared on PS4 to celebrate the anniversary of the God of War reboot. The theme showed Kratos and Atreus rowing, however the theme contained a secret message (discovered by eagle-eyed God of War fans on Reddit).
The boat the pair are rowing in has runes etched on its side which translate (in English) to “Ragnarok is coming” – which we now know to be a pretty official slogan for the game.
No God of War DLC
God of War director Corey Barlog had said there were originally plans for DLC for the 2018 reboot, but said they were halted for being “too ambitious”. That means the studio can invest resources into an entirely new game as opposed to post-launch content.
God of War 2: what we want to see
[Warning: spoilers for the ending of God of War ahead.]
Exploring that ending further
At the end of God of War, we found out that Kratos’ wife (and Atreus’ mother) Faye was actually a Giant called Laufey. That means Atreus is half God and half Giant and, what’s more, he has a different name altogether: Loki. You know Loki, the trickster of Norse mythology.
Hopefully God of War 2 will explore this further and we’ll find out more about Faye’s secret past, as well as why she kept it all a secret in the first place. We’re also hoping Atreus will embrace the shape shifting abilities that Loki is notorious for instead of simply standing on the sidelines firing arrows at enemies.
Atreus isn’t a boy anymore
The God of War sequel may continue on directly from the events of the previous game, however we think it would be more interesting to see how a teenage Atreus and grumpy dad Kratos fair on an adventure.