God of War

God of War is Sony’s action-adventure franchise created by David Jaffe and developed by Santa Monica Studio, following Kratos, a Spartan warrior who murders the Greek god of war Ares and sets a war against Olympus in motion, and later reinvents himself as a Norse mythological figure raising his son Atreus through a world of gods he once would have simply killed. The franchise launched March 22, 2005, and God of War Ragnarök in November 2022 became the fastest-selling PlayStation first-party game in history. A live-action Amazon Prime Video series is currently filming in Vancouver with Ryan Hurst as Kratos, no release date confirmed.

God of War was the first series I played when I got my PS5.I streamed the first couple games on PlayStation Plus and then the rest natively on PS5.

The Greek Era

God of War released March 22, 2005, for PlayStation 2, directed by David Jaffe and developed by Santa Monica Studio. The game follows Kratos, a Spartan general who made a bargain with Ares to save himself in battle and later murders Ares at Athena’s request, beginning a cycle of divine manipulation and revenge that drives the entire Greek era. The combat system, built around the Blades of Chaos, chained blades attached to Kratos’s arms by their handles, combined brutal chain weapon attacks with brutal close-range finishing moves in a spectacle-driven action framework that defined the hack-and-slash genre’s visual language for years. God of War II in March 2007 expanded the scale further on PlayStation 2 before God of War III in March 2010 brought the trilogy to its explosive conclusion on PlayStation 3, with Kratos dismantling Olympus deity by deity in sequences of visual ambition that pushed the hardware visibly.

Two PlayStation Portable entries filled in Kratos’s backstory. God of War: Chains of Olympus in 2008, developed by Ready at Dawn, covered events before the original game. God of War: Ghost of Sparta in 2010, also by Ready at Dawn, explored his brother Deimos. God of War: Ascension in March 2013 was a PS3 prequel set before the original game’s events, depicting the earliest phase of Kratos’s break from Ares. God of War: Sons of Sparta released February 12, 2026, as the most recent entry in the Greek era.

The Norse Era: God of War (2018) and Ragnarök

God of War, directed by Cory Barlog and released April 20, 2018, for PlayStation 4, is the franchise’s most significant creative shift. Decades have passed since the events of Ascension. Kratos is living in Norse Scandinavia, his past unknown to those around him, raising his son Atreus following the death of his wife Faye. The game follows them carrying her ashes to the highest peak in all the realms, a journey that pulls them into conflicts with Norse gods neither wants. Christopher Judge voiced Kratos for the first time in this entry, and Sunny Suljic voiced Atreus. The game received the strongest critical response in the franchise’s history, winning multiple Game of the Year awards, and its shift from spectacle-focused combat to a slower, more deliberate father-son story demonstrated that the franchise could sustain profound character work alongside its violence.

God of War Ragnarök released November 9, 2022, for PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4, continuing the Norse saga through its conclusion. The game sold 5.1 million copies in its first week, making it the fastest-selling first-party PlayStation game ever released. Kratos and Atreus navigate the approaching Ragnarök, the Norse apocalypse, while the revelation of Atreus’s true identity as Loki and his role in the prophesied end of the gods drives the father-son conflict at the story’s heart to its conclusion.

The Amazon Prime Video Series

Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television announced a live-action God of War series in December 2022. Ronald D. Moore, the creator of the Battlestar Galactica reboot and showrunner of Outlander, was announced as showrunner and writer. Amazon confirmed a two-season order in March 2025. Principal photography began February 27, 2026, in Vancouver, with production expected to wrap April 7, 2027.

The series is based on the 2018 Norse era game rather than the original Greek trilogy, following the story of Kratos and Atreus’s journey through Norse mythology. Ryan Hurst plays Kratos. Hurst also voiced Thor in God of War Ragnarök, making him one of few cast members with an existing connection to the franchise’s specific mythology. Callum Vinson of The Night Agent plays Atreus. Teresa Palmer plays Phoebe, a version of the Norse goddess Sif. Mandy Patinkin plays Odin, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson plays Thor, Max Parker plays Heimdall, and Ed Skrein plays Baldur. Additional cast includes Alastair Duncan as Mimir, Danny Woodburn as Brok, Jeff Gulka as Sindri, Louis Cunningham as Modi, Ben Chapple as Magni, Island Austin as Thrud, and Evelyn Miller as Gna. A first look image released in January 2026 showing Kratos and Atreus received a mixed fan reaction, with game creator David Jaffe publicly critical of the image. Ryan Hurst responded by asking fans not to believe everything they see on the internet. No release date has been confirmed. A 2027 premiere is the most likely outcome based on the production timeline, with 2028 possible given the visual effects requirements.