God of War Ragnarök release date, pre-order, trailer and more

When is the God of War Ragnarök release date? Developer Sony Santa Monica has recently reiterated that God of War 2 is on track, which means that PS4 and PS5 owners should have it later this year.

By the time the God of War Ragnarök release date arrives, Kratos and Atreus will be able to continue their Viking adventure beyond the first game’s defeat of Baldur, son of Odin and Freya, and Thor’s sons, Modi and Magni.

Which legendary enemies they’ll face next is yet to be revealed – the only real tease at the game’s plot that we’ve seen to date was the game’s first trailer, released in September 2021, which revealed that it will be set a few years after the events of the original.

But the name Ragnarök implies a more epic scale even than the first adventure, and the likelihood that the Norse pantheon will be decimated.

Players will be able to visit all of the Nine Realms in Ragnarok, as opposed to six in the previous game. The game will include Vanaheim, Svartalfheim, and Asgard, which were unreachable in the 2016 title. Locations from the last game will also have new areas to visit.

God of War Ragnarök release date

The God of War Ragnarök release date is still on track for 2022, one of the game’s lead developers recently confirmed.

In April, developer Sony Santa Monica Studio published a video in which series head Cory Barlog asked fans to remain patient for news on the upcoming God of War sequel.

The video led to some concern that the God of War Ragnarök release date could have slipped. However, the game’s animation director Bruno Velazquez later confirmed: “Ragnarok is coming this year.”

God of War Ragnarök gameplay trailer

Sony published the first God of War Ragnarök gameplay trailer in September 2021.

The trailer reveals that Ragnarök will be set a few years after the events of its 2018 predecessor, when the freezing winds of Fimbulwinter have come to Midgard.

“While the last game built an enormous amount of trust and understanding between father and son, there is still a great deal of complexity in their interactions – especially after the revelation of Atreus’ Giant heritage and the hidden prophecy only Kratos saw,” Sony said.

“Atreus is desperately curious. Like most young people, he wants to understand who he is more than anything. In this case, he wants to understand who he could be. The mystery of Loki’s role in the upcoming conflict is something that Atreus cannot let go of.”

God of War Ragnarök story

Little was revealed about the God of War Ragnarök story in its most recent trailer.

We do at least have a brief overview of what to expect, as described by Santa Monica Studio’s senior community manager Grace Orlady back when the trailer was originally released.

According to Orlady, there is still a great deal of complexity between Kratos and his son – especially after the revelation of Atreus’ Giant heritage and the hidden prophecy only Kratos saw.

“Kratos, still bearing the knowledge of his past mistakes, wants to spare Atreus the bloody lessons he learned from his conflict with gods,” they said. “He wants to keep his son safe, above all, and their confrontation with Baldur has vindicated the belief that only tragedy will come from further entanglements with the Aesir.”

It’s not yet clear what will happen when and if Ragnarök does happen in the game. In Norse legend, Ragnarök follows a string of events, including the death of Baldr (Baldur) at the hands of the treacherous Loki, and ‘Fimbulvetr,’ an extra-long winter that heralds the arrival of the end times (as we left Kratos and Atreus last time, Fimbulvetr had already begun).

When Ragnarök begins, the seas flood the land, mountains collapse and the sun and moon are eaten by cosmic wolves. Loki breaks free from imprisonment and rises against the gods, and fire-giant king Surtr invades Asgard, Odin’s kingdom. Then basically everyone dies.

We assume God of War won’t quite take things this far, not least because the ending of all existence isn’t a shrewd move for the future of the franchise. And Santa Monica Studio isn’t exactly attempting a faithful retelling of Norse mythology.

Latest God of War Ragnarök news

• God of War Ragnarök developer assures players it’s still coming in 2022
• God of War director asks fans to be patient for Ragnarök news: ‘Something cool is coming’
• A God of War TV series from The Expanse’s creators is reportedly in the works

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