Developers Santa Monica Studio is working on God of War Ragnarök, an action-adventure game that will be released by Sony Interactive Entertainment in 2018. The PlayStation 4 (PS4) and PlayStation 5 (PS5) versions of the game are expected to be published in 2022. (PS5).
As the ninth God of War installment, it will also be the sequel to God of War released in 2018.
The game will be based on Norse mythology and take place in ancient Scandinavia, with Kratos and his adolescent son Atreus as the main characters.
After Kratos’ death, it was predicted that some of the other gods would be murdered, and thus Ragnarök, a terrible event that marks the end of the world and the deaths of many gods, would take place.
Development of Game
The 2018 God of War game finished with the looming Ragnarök, as well as a hidden ending that revealed a vision of Thor confronting Kratos and Atreus at the conclusion of Fimbulwinter.
In 2018, director Cory Barlog indicated that the 2018 edition would not be Kratos’ last game, and that future games will continue to be set in the Norse world with Atreus.
On Kratos and Atreus’ boat were runes that translated to “Ragnarök is approaching.” The same day, Barlog sent a series of tweets on Twitter with photographs and a message about the development process; some fans decoded that the first letter of each tweet spelled out “Ragnarök is coming”.
However, once Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) declared that they will be maintaining their previous platform until at least 2022, questions arose as to whether the next God of War would be released on the PlayStation 4 (PS4) (e.g., Horizon Forbidden West).
Sony and Santa Monica Studio had not provided any updates on the game’s release by February 2021, causing Cory Barlog to tweet that it will be released “when it’s done”.
“To guarantee Santa Monica Studio can create the magnificent God of War game that we all want to play,” said Hermen Hulst, CEO of PlayStation Studios, in June 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic hampered development by limiting access to performance capture and talent, according to Hulst.
Officially, Santa Monica Studio said that while providing a high-quality game, they also wanted to ensure the safety of all involved. Bear McCreary, the composer of the game’s soundtrack, said the wait will be worth it.
Christopher Judge said in late September that he was the reason the game was delayed due to surgery in August 2019. Santa Monica Studio waited for Judge to heal before beginning production, according to Judge.
I briefly quit the game after learning that Eric Williams would be directing the sequel. After working with Williams, Judge was convinced that Williams was entirely capable of directing the game.
Sony’s May 2021 investment file featured a title treatment for the game, God of War: Ragnarök, which was eventually modified to “God of War”. The logo used in the file was deemed unauthorized and fan-made. Following this, numerous media publications questioned the game’s title’s authenticity.
A Sony spokeswoman told IGN that the game’s logo and title were not yet decided and that the bogus logo in the investment file was a mistake.
The game’s title was announced as God of War Ragnarök (no colon) on September 9 at the 2021 PlayStation Showcase. The game’s first gameplay footage debuted during the 2021 PlayStation Showcase, depicting Kratos and Atreus on a wolf-drawn dog sled through cold terrain.
The previous game only permitted players to visit six realms, with Asgard, Vanaheim, and Svartalfheim being unavailable. Also announced at the time as director was Eric Williams, who has worked on every prior version.
Williams announced Richard Schiff as Odin, Ryan Hurst as Thor, Ben Prendergast as Tr, the Norse God of War, Laya De Leon Hayes as Angrboa, and Usman Ally as Durlin. Sunny Suljic, Danielle Bisutti, and Alastair Duncan will reprise their roles as Atreus, Freya, and Mimir, respectively, while Robert Craighead and Adam J. Harrington will reprise their roles as Brok and Sindri, respectively.
Unlike Chris Hemsworth’s iconic portrayal of Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Thor in Ragnarök will have a massive body, long red hair, and a beard. He also said that he will be delivering the voice and motion capture for Ratatoskr and working directly with the authors to craft his sequences.
The game’s magnitude and scope were one of the reasons Santa Monica chose Ragnarök to finish the Norse period. They didn’t want to take another five years to present the same tale as the 2018 and Ragnarök installments.
According to Barlog, condensing the plot into two games is akin to seeing the expanded versions of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, since the customer will feel they have presented a full story with a defined beginning and finish.
Dev Teases God Of War Ragnarok
Completed Game Fuels Showcase Speculation
Ruben Morales, God of War’s lead destruction artist, hinted at the game’s completion on Twitter. But he can’t display that footage since God of War’s main destruction artist, Ruben Morales, suggested the game’s completion on Twitter.
For obvious reasons, dad can’t show his kid playing the latest game, God of War Ragnarok. Considering we’re just in the second quarter, this isn’t surprising. It might mean a demo soon with a peek at the game and release date.
Now Sony needs to declare a release date. Rumors expected an October release, but we have yet to see any solid leaks verifying this. God of War Ragnarok is the year’s last PlayStation exclusive. Until this year, we were yet to get some of the most anticipated PlayStation 5 games.
Given Horizon Forbidden West’s success, fans would expect the same from one of Sony’s most regarded studios. This certainly indicates the game is over, which isn’t unexpected since we’re only into the second quarter.
It might suggest a demonstration shortly, with a look at the game and release date. It’s about time Sony announced the game’s release date. Rumors predicted a release in October, but such rumors lack credibility and we have yet to get any substantial leaks confirming the same.
God of War Ragnarok is the year’s final PlayStation exclusive, so it’s certainly highly anticipated.
Until this year, we were yet to acquire some of the most anticipated titles on the PlayStation 5.
Fans would anticipate the same from one of Sony’s most respected studios, given Horizon Forbidden West’s success.
Release Date
God of War is expected to release on September 30th, 2022.
