One of the most exciting announcements during the PlayStation 5 event in September 2020 was the reveal of the next God of War game, which would later be officially named Ragnarök. This will be the follow-up to 2018’s God of War, developed by Santa Monica Studio — the team responsible for most games in the series.
We’ve scoured the internet to gather as much as possible about the sequel to 2018’s God of War. Here’s everything we know about God of War Ragnarök, including its trailer, release date, and more. (Note that we will be spoiling the plot of 2018’s God of War, so do not read ahead if you’re concerned about spoilers.)
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Release date
God of War Ragnarök is set to launch on November 9, 2022.
Initially, God of War Ragnarök was supposed to launch in 2021. That was the release window that was given during the game’s announcement trailer in 2020. But the game was then delayed to 2022. As part of the September 2021 PlayStation Showcase, many expected Sony to announce the game’s official release date, but that wasn’t the case.
In terms of the development timeline, a fall 2022 release window isn’t totally outlandish. Cory Barlog, creative director of 2018’s God of War, teased the sequel in April 2019 via a clever Twitter thread. Disguised as a post about his time working on God of War, the first letter of each post spells out “Ragnarök is coming.” So, even assuming the studio started working on the sequel as late as April 2019, having it ready to go by fall 2022 isn’t out of the question — especially since the team could reuse some of the assets and animations from the first game.
In April 2022, Santa Monica Studio posted a video celebrating the fourth anniversary of the reboot, while carefully updating fans on the development of Ragnarök.
4 years ago, God of War (2018) released! We’re grateful to all of you who joined Kratos and Atreus on their journey, and we’re so proud of the team who worked to bring it to life.
While we’re not ready to share an update about what comes next, here’s a quick message from Cory! pic.twitter.com/Z5PHpKQppY
— Santa Monica Studio – God of War Ragnarök (@SonySantaMonica) April 20, 2022
Barlog said the team was still hard at work, explaining that there wasn’t anything to show quite yet. “I guarantee you, the moment — the very second we have something ready to share — we’re going to share it,” Barlog said.
Another thing to note is that at the end of May 2022, a site called Entertainment Earth had a listing for various God of War Ragnarök merch, leading many to believe the timing would coincide with a release date reveal. Since the merch went live, it picked up a lot of traction and was eventually delisted, possibly indicating the validity that a major reveal is coming soon. Along with that, the PS Plus games for June 2022 were revealed, one of which is God of War (2018).
With that in mind, it’s possible Sony will have a massive God of War Ragnarök showcase later in summer 2022, ahead of the game’s release.
Platforms
We know God of War Ragnarök will be coming to PS5, but it’s also coming to PS4, as confirmed via a PlayStation Blog post. It makes sense to launch for both platforms, at least from a business perspective. The tricky thing is that a game like Ragnarök is expensive to make, and surely Sony wants as many players as possible to buy a copy when it releases — even if that means the overall product is held back to accommodate for the less powerful hardware.
With that in mind, it will likely be lucrative to put it on PS4, just as Horizon Forbidden West — yet another PlayStation exclusive — was a cross-generational game. With Ragnarök‘s 2022 release date, it makes sense for it to launch on both systems, so long as the previous generation version doesn’t hold back the PS5 edition. With over 117 million PS4s in the wild, the install base is plentiful, guaranteeing sales on previous-generation hardware.
Trailers
Teaser trailer
A teaser trailer was shown during the PS5 event in 2020, and in terms of official information about the project, that was all we knew about for a whole year. It didn’t show off any gameplay or much of anything aside from a logo and an expected release window. It didn’t even feature the game’s official name, other than including the text “Ragnarök is coming 2021.”
Second trailer
Then, in September 2021, Sony unveiled a three-minute trailer showing off new and familiar characters from the series. Most notably, we got a look at Mimir, Freya, Tyr, and Thor, along with an older version of Atreus. But it also featured our first look at gameplay, which harkens back to the first game, though it seems like it will have new features as well. Atreus is seen riding a magical stag, while Kratos wields Blades of Chaos.
The trailer itself has a lot of gameplay footage without spoiling Ragnarök‘s story or twists. Given the leap forward in the 2018 game, it’s likely Ragnarök will have its fair share of surprises as well. At the end of the trailer, we get a look at a new character named Angrboda, a young girl who may play a large role in the overall narrative.
Release date Father and Son cinematic trailer
Then, Sony and Santa Monica Studios finally published a trailer with the game’s release date. It was a short cinematic trailer that featured Kratos and Atreus battling enemies in the snow. It doesn’t show off any gameplay, but it did give us the long-awaited release date.
Gameplay
The September 2021 PlayStation Showcase gave us a first look at God of War Ragnarök gameplay, and while there were a couple of new inclusions (such as the Runic Summon for Atreus), Santa Monica Studios likely still has a lot more to show. Much of the trailer focused on returning aspects like the famous boat riding sequences, exploration, and fast-paced action.
“As a team, we’ve worked hard to take our learnings from God of War (2018) and improve upon combat to feel fresh, yet familiar,” said Grace Orlady, senior community manager at Santa Monica Studio.
“With God of War Ragnarök, one of our main goals was to push player choice in combat. Whether it’s through hard-hitting combos, a mastery of elements, or clever defensive tactics — you will find plenty of opportunities to fight alongside our duo in a way that feels uniquely expressive.”
We’ll likely get a more in-depth look at gameplay closer to release, but what we do know is that Ragnarök will feature even more locations to explore than its predecessor, such as “otherworldly jungles” and “intricate subterranean mining networks.”
One, unbroken shot like 2018.
— Matt Sophos (@mattsophos) September 9, 2021
Tying the entire game together will be yet another single camera shot, just like the previous installment. This was one of the best features of God of War, giving the entire adventure a more personal, intimate feeling. With the premise of telling a heartfelt story of a father and son, the uninterrupted camera shot adds to the entire experience.
We also know that Ragnarök will implement a plethora of accessibility features, which has been a major priority for Sony in recent years. It will include various subtitle options — including the ability to change the size and colors — complete controller remapping, high-contrast mode, and a slew of gameplay assist mechanics that allow as many players as possible to enjoy the game.
Happy Global Accessibility Awareness Day!
We're celebrating by sharing some of the 60+ accessibility features our team will include in God of War Ragnarök. #GAAD #AccessibilityDay #GodofWarRagnarok
Read more below 👇
— Santa Monica Studio – God of War Ragnarök (@SonySantaMonica) May 19, 2022
Multiplayer
While the God of War series has featured multiplayer before (specifically in 2013’s God of War: Ascension), it’s highly unlikely Ragnarök will be anything but a single-player adventure. The first game was a masterpiece, particularly because the Santa Monica team focused on the narrative without any other distractions like the addition of an arbitrary multiplayer mode. And given the time frame of supposedly launching this year, there simply isn’t enough time for the team to have implemented a robust online multiplayer segment.
It’s certainly not out of the question, but highly unlikely. If anything, an asynchronous online component could be implemented, similar to the notes in the Dark Souls series. But in terms of playing side by side with others — whether it’s cooperatively or competitively — we don’t expect to see anything like that.
DLC
We may see some kind of DLC with Ragnarök, though considering we don’t know much about the game itself, it’s still too early to say for sure. God of War 2018 did get additional content after it was released, including some extra weapons and a New Game+ mode. As far as extra story content or major expansions, we wouldn’t bet on it. The God of War series is not known for featuring major DLC additions, and we wouldn’t expect that to change with Ragnarök.
Pre-order
Finally, you might be wondering about pre-ordering the next God of War game. Thanks to its recent release date announcement, God of War Ragnarök pre-orders are live now.
Standard Edition
Pre-ordering gives you access to the following items:
- Kratos Risen Snow Armor
- Atreus Risen Snow Tunic
There will be various versions, including a godlike collector’s edition that comes with Thor’s hammer.
Digital Deluxe Edition
- Copy of God of War Ragnarök (PS4 or PS5)
- Kratos Darkdale Armor
- Atreus Darkdale Attire
- Darkdale Blades Handles for the Blades of Chaos
- Darkdale Axe Grip for the Leviathan Axe
- Official God of War Ragnarök digital soundtrack
- Dark Horse digital mini artbook
- Avatar set
- A God of War Ragnarök theme for PS4
God of War Ragnarök Collector’s Edition
- A Knowledge Keeper’s Shrine box
- All the digital items from the Digital Deluxe Edition
- Printed voucher code for God of War Ragnarök on PS4 and PS5
- A steelbook display case (no physical game disk included)
- 2-inch Vanir Twins Carvings
- Dwarven dice set
- A 16-inch Mjolnir replica
God of War Ragnarök Jotnar Edition
- All digital items from the Digital Deluxe Edition
- A printed voucher code for God of War Ragnarök on PS4 and PS5
- The Knowledge Keeper’s Shrine box
- 7-inch vinyl record with music by Bear McCreary
- A Falcon, Bear, and Wolf pin set
- The Legendary Draupnir Ring
- Brok’s dice set
- A Yggdrasil cloth map
- A steelbook display case
- 2-inch Vanir Twins Carvings
- A 16-inch Mjolnir replica
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