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DevelopmentEdit

At the first annual PlayStation Experience on December 6, 2014, SIE Santa Monica Studio‘s creative director Cory Barlog confirmed that a new God of War was in very early development. He said that the game would not be a prequel, but it might be a reboot.[9] In April 2016, Polygon reported that concept art of the next installment had been leaked. The images showed Kratos in the world of Norse mythology; a concept originally considered by series creator David Jaffe after Kratos eliminated the Greek gods.[10] At E3 2016, the next installment was officially announced with a gameplay trailer and confirmed the concept art to be true. The trailer showed a fully bearded Kratos, who now has a son, and Kratos is teaching the boy how to hunt. In the trailer, the pair battle a troll, a creature from the mythology. The end of the trailer showed the title God of War and confirmed it is in development for PlayStation 4.[11][4] E3 also confirmed that Barlog had returned to the series as game director for the new installment. Barlog has been a major contributor in the development of the God of War series since the original installment in 2005, with his prior most notable role being game director of God of War II (2007). This new installment is his fifth God of War game that he has worked on.[8]

In an interview with The Know, Barlog confirmed that the title is God of War with no numeral or subtitle. The development team deliberately did not call it God of War IVbecause although it is a continuation of the series, Barlog said “we are reimagining everything.” Barlog explained that the first seven games were Greek mythology, and they are leaving that era and transitioning to Norse: “it’s kind of this BC–AD change over kind of thing. We’re moving and starting from zero and kind of moving forward on that.”[6][7]Before settling on Norse mythology, Egyptian mythology was also considered. Barlog said that half of the team was for it, but since “there’s a lot more about civilization – it’s less isolated, less barren”, they decided on the Norse setting because they wanted the focus to stay on Kratos: “Having too much around distracts from that central theme of a stranger in a strange land.”[12] In explaining why Kratos is now in the Norse world, Barlog said that different culture’s belief systems coexisted, but they were “separated by geography”, suggesting that Kratos traveled from Greece to Norway (Scandinavia) after the conclusion of God of War III.[13] Barlog also confirmed that this game predates theVikings; it is the time in which their gods walked the Earth.[12][8]

During early development, there was talk about having a different protagonist for the game, but it was decided to keep Kratos. Referencing the Nintendo character Marioand the Mario games, Barlog said that just like Mario, “Kratos is intrinsically tied” to the God of War series.[8] In regards to the new changes, Barlog said that:

I knew I didn’t want to simply reboot the franchise, starting over with a retelling of the origin story. I wanted to reimagine the gameplay, give players a fresh perspective and a new tactile experience while delving deeper into the emotional journey of Kratos to explore the compelling drama that unfolds when an immortal demigod makes a decision to change.

Barlog explained that Kratos had to change his cycle of violence and learn how to control his rage. He said that Kratos had made many bad decisions, which led to the destruction ofOlympus, and wanted to know what would happen if Kratos made a good decision. The birth of Barlog’s own son influenced the idea of Kratos’ character change.[14] The canceled live-action Star Wars television series was also an influence.[15] The bond between Kratos and his son is at the heart of the game and Barlog said “This game is about Kratos teaching his son how to be a god, and his son teaching Kratos how to be human again.”[5]Referencing the Marvel Comics characterHulk, Barlog said that in regards to Kratos, “We’ve already told the story of The Hulk. We want to tell the story of Banner now.”[5]Although GameSpot had reported that Kratos’ son’s name is Charlie, Barlog laughingly denied it and said “That’s not a thing we’re talking about either, but we’ll go with code name Charlie for now.”[16] Barlog said they are not talking about the son’s mother yet, as she is a critical part of the story.[6] In an interview with Spanish website LevelUp.com, Barlog said that the son knows that Kratos is ademigod, but does not know about his past, and Barlog confirmed that this would not be Kratos’ last game.[3] Christopher Judge, best known for his role as Teal’c from Stargate SG-1, will be replacing Terrence C. Carson as Kratos; TC Carson had voiced Kratos since the original God of War. Commenting in response to the change, Carson said “Sony went in a new direction. Let ’em know what you think.”[17]

Most of the development team that worked on the original God of War is working on the new installment.[6] The developers claim that they have matched the new gameplay with the same level of accessibility of the previous games. Barlog confirmed that the game will be open, but it will not be open-world, andquick time events will not be like they were in previous games.[2] In regards to the camera change, Barlog said “We wanted a much more intimate experience, a much more up close, and a much more player-controlled experience, so the camera really is a mechanic that we’re leaning into heavily for everything in the game.”[2] The entire game will be a single shot, meaning there will be no loading screens or fade to black.[5] The frame rate will be 30 frames per second.[3] The game will not feature any morality system or branching story; all players will have the same story experience. Throughout the game, players will be able to visit some of the nine realms of Norse mythology, and the enemy count has been increased to up to 100 enemies on-screen; God of War III andAscension could do up to 50. The developers have confirmed that some of the more controversial mini-games found in previous entries will not return.[6]