The God of War series has always been known for its brutal hack-and-slash gameplay, from the release of the PS2 to the recent Norse duology masterpieces on PS5 and PC. Santa Monica Studios has taken the franchise to new heights, with the later entries offering stunning graphics, heart-wrenching voice acting, and smooth gameplay.
Whether you’ve played it from the start during Kratos’s murder spree of the Greek Gods or are jumping in for the dad of the year era, you might want some narrative context for Kratos’s journey. This guide gives you the best way to experience God of War for the first time or relive the epic moments in chronological or release order.
God of War Release Order
For those interested in the release order or just looking to find out which God of War game came out when, then this list is for you.
Keep in mind that this list does feature a non-canon game that has been italicised for those who want to skip over it.
- God of War (2005)
- God of War 2 (2007)
- God of War: Betrayal (2007)
- God of War: Chains of Olympus (2008)
- God of War 3 (2010)
- God of War: Ghost of Sparta (2010)
- God of War: Ascension (2013)
- God of War: A Call from the Wilds (2018)
- God of War (2018)
- God of War: Ragnarök (2022)
The games themselves vary from grand epics like God of War (2018) and God of War 3, to a mobile game (God of War Betrayal), and even a niche text-adventure game (God of War: A Call from the Wilds) that not a lot of people know about
God of War Chronological Order
For those looking to experience the complete narrative of Kratos’s journey, from his early days as a spartan to his complete arc at becoming the God of War, this is the chronological order of all the games in the series.
- God of War: Ascension (2013)
- God of War: Chains of Olympus (2008)
- God of War (2005)
- God of War: Ghost of Sparta (2010)
- God of War 2 (2007)
- God of War 3 (2010)
- God of War: A Call from the Wilds (2018)
- God of War (2018)
- God of War: Ragnarök (2022)
Although this list may seem disordered in terms of date order, it might well be the best way to experience the God of War series, from the original to Ragnarök. It’s also worth noting that God of War: Betrayal is non-canon and is not included in this list.
As God of War: Betrayal is non-canon, it’s not included in this list. However, you can still play it anytime without ruining the chronological order if you are interested in this action-adventure mobile game.
While Sony hasn’t released any information regarding what’s next for Kratos, it’s almost certain that more God of War games are on the way given the critical success of God of War (2018) and God of War Ragnarök. We speculate Kratos’s journey will head beyond the 9 realms, as after all, he did slay all the Greek gods and move onto a new mythological world to yet again slay more gods. Only time will tell where this God of War will go next.
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