‘God of War 5’ may reveal key figure in Kratos and Atreus' past, director hints
The second installment of Dad and Boy might involve a lot more Mom.
A follow-up to the PlayStation 4 reboot of the iconic God of War series has now been all but confirmed by the game’s creative director, Cory Barlog. The rumored God of War 5 release has yet to be announced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, but Barlog has been candid about his many ideas for the potential sequel.
Barlog is keen to further explore Faye’s backstory as Kratos’ wife and Atreus’ mother, he said in an interview published January 3 with PlayStation Access. It’s her passing that instigates Kratos’s journey with his son in God of War, and Barlog has clearly thought about how Sony Santa Monica can develop those relationships in future installments of the series.
“Faye was the one I identified with the most,” he said roughly 37 minutes into the interview. “You get to understand that she has way more power than all of them and is actually the controller of so much in this universe… I don’t know how we’re going to tell this, or when we’re going to tell this, but I really want to tell the story of Kratos and Faye meeting.”
Kratos and his son Atreus in *God of War.*
Barlog is unsurprisingly vague about when we can expect another God of War title, but with the PS5 set for launch late this year it’ll almost certainly launch on Sony’s next-generation hardware.
Barlog has already teased some story ideas for a new God of War game in an interview with Kotaku. The creative director jokingly said he has enough ideas for “five games,” which he later clarified on Twitter was an exaggeration. (Sorry, Kratos stans!) But the PlayStation Access interview is the first we’ve heard about how Faye resonates with Barlog, which suggests her character will once again be pivotal to the next God of War.
God of War spoilers ahead.
The next God of War game won’t be a prequel
Based on what we know already, God of War 5 will be a direct continuation of the 2019 release. It seems Dad and Boy will still be in the Norse realm for Round Two, especially after what we learn about Atreus at the very end of God of War.
Odds are, Kratos and Atreus will visit the three Norse realms we didn’t get to check out in the first game: Svartalfheim, Asgard, and Vanaheim. The final world is is home to Freya and the Vanir, the seat of the “old magic” referenced throughout the first game. It could be the setting where Kratos and Atreus experience flashbacks and memories of Faye or learn more about her past.
When could God of War 5 release?
This is all speculation until SIE and Santa Monica reveal their plans for the series, but that might not be for quite a while.
God of War for PS4 took five years to develop, and Barlog mentioned during this latest interview that the majority of the team’s time was dedicated to complicated logistics like a working game engine and other labor-intensive mechanics. For a follow-up, Santa Monica Studio will need re-optimize the engine for the PS5 and create a new story. That seems a lot easier than building an entirely new game from the ground up.
Fans might hear something about the continued adventures of Dad and Boy round the time the PS5 launches, or a couple months later. Until then, they’ll need to survive on Barlog’s teasers.
God of War 5 has not been announced, but it is anticipated to come out for the PS5… eventually.
