According to a new rumor, in honor of the franchise’s twentieth anniversary, Sony Santa Monica is currently looking to remaster the original, Greek Myth-inspired God of War for modern hardware.
Word of the pre-Atreus era Kratos’ return was first brought to public attention by noted video game scooper Lunatic Ignus, better known online by his Twitter handle @ignusthewise.
Speaking to his followers on October 10th, the scooper asserted, “Yes, the rumors are true, God of War Greek Saga REMASTERED (Not actual title) is in the works at Santa Monica Studios and Nixxes Software.”
“The development is finished and they are just waiting for an announcement release,” he added. “Releasing in 2025 with an announcement December-March.”
In a follow-up tweet, @ignusthewise further clarified, “When I said Greek Saga, I mean all GREEK SAGA”, in doing so suggesting that the collection will include God of War (2005), God of War II, God of War III, the prequel God of War: Ascension, and the portable-only titles God of War: Ghost of Sparta and God of War: Chains of Olympus.
Seemingly set to release in 2025 in order to celebrate the franchise’s 20th anniversary, this new supposed collection will bring Kratos’s original mythos to modern hardware – presumably the PlayStation 5, and hopefully PC – for the first time.
And as fans wait for an official announcement for this collection from Sony or Santa Monica studio, speculation has already begun to build surrounding just how these classic titles will look and play on modern hardware.
Further, some fans have begun to express hopes that the potential remaster will bring the visuals up to par in modern games and gift players a number of quality of life improvements such as smoother controls, quicker loading times, and more, all without touching on either the Greek Saga’s gameplay, camera, or narrative elements.
The original God of War was first released on March 22, 2005, as the PlayStation 2 exclusive. Created by David Jaffe and developed by Sony’s Santa Monica Studio, the third-person action game introduced players to Kratos, a Spartan warrior on a quest for vengeance against the gods of Olympus.
Taking a more brutal approach to its top-down camera presentation, mythological setting, and intense hack-and-slash combat compared to similar franchises like Devil May Cry, Onimusha, or Prince of Persia, the game became a hit in no time and set the foundation for what would become one of PlayStation’s most important franchises.
From 2005 to 2013, Kratos’ Greek saga delivered seven games across three of Sony’s consoles, and surprisingly remained an exclusive all those years.
With every new game, the series improved on its previous installments, adding to the lore and Kratos as a character and giving him more personality and depth than his story of ‘A Spartan warrior out to take revenge against the Greek Gods’ would have initially suggested.
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Notably, should this rumor hold true, this wouldn’t be the first time God of War has entered the remaster machine.
Back in 2009, Sony Santa Monica dropped the God of War Collection for the PlayStation 3, which presented players with remastered versions of God of War and God of War II featuring enhanced 1080p visuals and smoother 60 FPS gameplay.
Then, in 2011, God of War: Origins Collection arrived, featuring the remastered PSP titles Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta, with both being given support for high-definition video and even stereoscopic 3D.
Next up was 2012’s God of War Saga, wherein the five key titles from the Greek Saga were bbundled into one collection for the PlayStation 3.
In 2015, God of War III Remastered came to the PlayStation 4, in doing so marking the series’ first entry on that console and giving the Greek Saga conclusion’s full 1080p support, improved frame rates, and a photo mode.
While God of War has a history of remasters, none of these titles have yet come to ninth-generation hardware – but hopefully, this will soon change.
Given the project’s currently unconfirmed status, it’s unknown just which specific God of War games it might include. However, all in all, the prospect of such a collection does present a unique opportunity to reintroduce a younger audience to Kratos’s brutal, hack-and-slash combat style (especially as the Greek-era games used a top-down camera and relied on fast-paced action, which contrasts sharply with the more cinematic, over-the-shoulder style adopted by the tattooed hero in the newer Norse games).
If done right, the remaster could spark a whole new generation of ‘Original Kratos’ fans – Heck, God of War 2 alone has one of the best boss fights, wherein Kratos takes on Colossus from Rhodes, ever seen in the history of video games.
Furthermore, as noted above, while it’s easily assumed that a potential Greek Saga collection will hit the PS5, word remains out on whether or not it also be made available on PC.
However, with Nixxes Software, a video game developer acquired by PlayStation Studios in 2021 to bring PS games to PC, behind the remaster, it seems a relatively safe bet to to say that the collection would also be available for PC players – and thankfully so, as more advanced computer hardware will truly help God of War display its full potential.
Sony is on a remaster spree recently, starting with The Last of Us Part II and most recently continuing with the announcement that Horizon Zero Dawn would be receiving the treatment. Notably, given how recent most of the titles chosen to be remastered are, these releases have resulted in major backlash from the overall video game community.
Nevertheless, at least in this reporter’s opinion, the release of some God of War remasters could go a long way in turning the tide of player sentiment towards Sony away from ‘overwhelmingly negative’ back to ‘somewhat positive’.