God of War is an
action-adventure game franchise created by
David Jaffe and developed by
Sony's
Santa Monica Studio. It began in 2005 on the
PlayStation 2 (PS2)
video game console and has become a flagship series for
PlayStation, consisting of nine installments across multiple platforms. Based on ancient
mythologies, the series' plot follows
Kratos, a
Spartan warrior who becomes the
God of War and comes into conflict with various mythological
pantheons. The earlier games in the series are based on
Greek mythology and see Kratos follow a path of vengeance against the
Olympian gods; the later games are based on
Norse mythology and see Kratos go on a path of redemption while also introducing his son
Atreus as a secondary protagonist.
Santa Monica Studio has developed all main entries, while
Ready at Dawn and
Javaground/
Sony Online Entertainment-Los Angeles (SOE-LA) developed the three side games.
Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) has published all games except the mobile phone installment, which was published by
Sony Pictures Digital. The first seven games make up the Greek era of the franchise.
God of War (2005),
God of War II (2007) and
God of War III (2010) comprise its main trilogy; the first two were released on the PS2 with the third on the
PlayStation 3 (PS3). A prequel,
Ascension (2013), was also released for the PS3. Other games include
Chains of Olympus (2008) and
Ghost of Sparta (2010) for the
PlayStation Portable (PSP) and
Betrayal (2007) for mobile phones that supported the
Java Platform, Micro Edition (Java ME). The Norse era began with the 2018 game
God of War, which was released for the
PlayStation 4 (PS4) and later
Windows in January 2022. It was accompanied by a short prequel,
A Call from the Wilds (2018), a
text-based game through
Facebook Messenger. A sequel,
Ragnarök, was released in November 2022 for the PS4 and
PlayStation 5 (PS5) and concluded the Norse era, which received an epilogue in the form of an
expansion pack titled
Valhalla in December 2023; a Windows port of
Ragnarök is scheduled for September 2024.
Games in the series have been praised as some of the best action games of all time. The series has received numerous awards, including several
Game of the Year recognitions for the 2005 and 2018 installments. Some games have also been remastered for newer PlayStation platforms. As of November 2023, the franchise has sold an estimated 66+ million games worldwide, and is PlayStation's most profitable first-party brand. Strong sales and support of the series led to the franchise's expansion into other media, such as three comic book series and three novels. A film adaptation of the original installment had been in development but was ultimately canceled; however, a television series adaptation of the Norse era is in development for
Amazon Prime Video. Merchandise includes artwork, clothing, toys, and
prop replicas, as well as the games' soundtracks, including a
heavy metal album,
Blood & Metal (2010), featuring original
music by various bands who were inspired by the series. (
Full article...)