It all began in 2005 with a Spartan soldier tasked with finding Pandora’s Box. Of course, over the next three instalments, the soldier, Kratos, would dismantle and obliterate the pantheon of ancient Greek mythology. In 2018, we found him renewed in the realms of Norse mythology, with the 2018 release being one of modern gaming’s greatest accomplishments. In 2022, God of War Ragnarök may have gone one step further.
Even with the initial and continued shortage of PlayStation 5 consoles, Ragnarök outsold the 2018 reboot and conquered all other games within a launch window for boxed sales in the UK, bar FIFA 23. The game itself is huge, with so much to do and explore, but gamers are already wondering where Kratos will find himself next – even before awards season comes around.
Interestingly, the God of War series has quite the history of spinoffs and venturing into other entertainment mediums. Betrayal, Chains of Olympus, Ghost of Sparta, and A Call from the Wilds were all released as spinoffs, side, or complementary games to the mainline series on mobile, PSP, and even Facebook Messenger. There has also been a comic series from Dark Horse Comics, another from DC Comics, and even a heavy metal homage EP.
So, where will the myth-hopping warrior find himself in the years to come?
Kratos on the big or small screen
For the 2018 and 2022 games, the studio was able to move from voice acting, done by Terrence C. Carson, to motion capture and total performances in front of a camera. For this, Christopher Judge has been superb, making Kratos his own, bringing power to the role, and, of course, voicing the Spartan to perfection. With Judge in the role, the remarkably deep story of the two games has come to life, and fans want to see it in other mediums.
It wasn’t long ago that a Sony spokesperson swore off a God of War movie, despite fans clamouring for one almost since the very inception of the series. Rumours had been around since 2005, and an effort never came to fruition, but now, we’re in an age of mass creation to appease streaming services and a revival of the video game adaptation genre in Hollywood. However, it’s being reported that God of War won’t be given the big-screen treatment, and will instead be brought to life again on the small screen.
Reports say that it’s been made official that a God of War show went into the works in May 2022. Most point to Prime Video now having the IP to work with, which won’t go down well with many crossover fans of other fantasy franchises, given Amazon’s track record. The Wheel of Time didn’t go down well with fans of the Robert Jordan novels, and The Rings of Power was as far from J.R.R. Tolkien’s works or quality fantasy writing as one could get. With the series in the works, though, this is likely where Kratos will pop up next.
Kratos hopping over to another realm
As shown in the first game, the studio has teased the idea of Kratos jumping to yet another mythology, with Týr’s Vault linking Greek, Egyptian, Celtic, and Japanese mythological realms and histories with Norse. There was also a time when the 2018 release of God of War was set to take place in Egypt, as shown by concept art released by the team. These games take many years to craft, though, but there are other ways for Kratos to move to another realm.
For years, online entertainment brands have been leveraging live technology and augmented reality to bring more realistic and otherworldly table game experiences to players of online casino platforms. Given what’s already been shown as possible, a virtual or live-action Kratos dealer might just be possible in blackjack. There’s already a celebrity dealer version and plenty of variants using different levels of animation. Above all else, Kratos as a card dealer would be a huge draw for the novelty – if not the bluntness of the Spartan.
Another fad right now seems to be bringing popular characters and settings to life. There’s a Tomb Raider Live Experience in London, and Nintendo has its own theme park. Given the IPs at its disposal, perhaps Sony should also get into the live experience game. In gaming, Sony boasts some of the most beloved characters of all, Kratos included. He could be joined by Spider-Man, anyone from Tekken 5 back, Nathan Drake, Aloy, Ratchet and Clank, Sackboy, Jin Sakai, Colt and Julianna, Joel and Ellie, and even the cat from Stray.
If that’s a bit too much effort for Sony – as building theme parks seem to be quite expensive – Kratos could run his own video sessions or even a live stream teaching lessons to viewers. He may need to be accompanied by Mimir, but a learning platform like MasterClass could be a great place for the stunt. The duo could teach Norse mythology or survival skills. Either way, people would flock to learn Kratos’ lessons.
The next place that we’re likely to see Kratos is on TV in a new show which will, hopefully, be true to the superb stories told so far in the games. With that, Sony has a great many appealing options, but doubtless on the minds of executives will be starting production on the next chapter in gaming.
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