Video Gamer is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices subject to change. Learn more
It seems God of War: Ragnarok will bring Kratos’ journey through Norse mythology to a close, if recent comments from Sony Santa Monica are to go by.
Speaking in an interview with Kaptain Kuba (as picked up by Video Games Chronicle) studio director Cory Barlog explained that the team have spent a long time with the Norse story. “I think one of the most important reasons is… the first game took five years. The second game—I don’t know how long it’s going to take — but I’m just going to throw out that it’s going to take close to a similar time to do this. And then if you think, wow a third one in that same [length of time], we’re talking a span of close to 15 years on a single story and I feel like that’s just too stretched out.”
It was revealed last week that Barlog himself won’t actually be directing the new game. Instead, that mantle has been passed down to God of War veteran Eric Williams. Balrog continued: “I feel like we’re asking too much, to say the actual completion of that story taking that long just feels too long, and given where the team was at and where Eric was at with what he wanted to do, I was like ‘look, I think we can actually do this in the second story.'”
Barlog also pointed to the story of the relationship between Kratos and Atreus, and complexities that he likened to ripples in a pond. “And we could make it an ocean and make those ripples go for thousands of miles, but is that necessary and is that beneficial, or are we feeling like it’s just spreading it too far apart? The ripples get too far apart, and you sort of lose the plot a little bit.”
Of course, there’s still plenty of incredible takes on Norse myths to look forward to, as we saw in the trailer last week. God of War: Ragnarok is currently set for a 2022 release on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4.
