God of War Ragnarok

12:54 God of War Ragnarok is the second game of Kratos's Norse saga: released on Nov 9, 2022 for PS5 and PS4 and on PC on Sep 19, 2024, it sends Kratos and Atreus to each of the Nine Realms as Fimbulwinter spreads and Asgard prepares for war. Eric Williams directed it, it sold more than 15 million copies by Nov 19, 2023, and it won six awards at The Game Awards 2022. A free roguelite epilogue, Valhalla, followed in Dec 2023.

Ragnarok is the game God of War Laufey grows out of: Laufey's question, what happens to gods when they die, is Odin's obsession in Ragnarok, and Deborah Ann Woll, Laufey's Faye, first played her in Ragnarok. Laufey comes out on May 20, 2027.

Quick facts

Sources: Metacritic, PlayStation, Steam and HowLongToBeat, Nov 4, 2026; GameSpot, Nov 21, 2022; Variety, Nov 11, 2022; PlayStation Blog, Dec 7, 2023.

What is God of War Ragnarok about?

2:27 It picks up after God of War (2018). Kratos and Atreus, who now knows he is Loki, have angered Odin, Thor and Freya, and set out to learn their part in Ragnarok. On the way they meet Tyr, a Norse god of war, the Norns, who tell Kratos that prophecies are predictions rather than fate, and Angrboda, a giant in Ironwood whose mother wrote the prophecy that Kratos dies at Atreus's hand. Atreus goes to Odin in secret, Kratos breaks Odin's curse on Freya, and the story ends in a war on Asgard. The ending, with spoilers, is on God of War Ragnarok Ending Explained.

2:56 The cast: Christopher Judge as Kratos and Sunny Suljic as Atreus; Ryan Hurst as Thor; Richard Schiff as Odin, credited by IndieWire; Alastair Duncan as Mimir; Danielle Bisutti as Freya; Adam J. Harrington as Sindri; and Laya DeLeon Hayes as Angrboda, as BAFTA's 2023 nominations list them. See Odin and Thor.

Development and the delay

Eric Williams directed, with Matt Sophos as narrative director and Raf Grassetti as art director; Cory Barlog had directed the 2018 game. Ragnarok was first meant for 2021. Christopher Judge told IGN that his surgery was a reason it was delayed from that window; it came out on PS4 as well as PS5.

Grassetti said the Aesir were made taller than Kratos, and Hurst named the Hulk among his models for Thor.

How it plays

7:00 The Leviathan Axe, the Blades of Chaos and the Guardian Shield return with new abilities, Kratos gains new Runic abilities, and Atreus's Talon Bow gets new attacks and Runic summons. A third weapon, the Draupnir Spear, joins later; all of them are on Weapons. Gear builds on 2018: armor with perks and stats, Shield Ronds, the Amulet of Yggdrasil with Enchantments, Skill Mods, Labors and Nornir Chests, as Santa Monica Studio lists them.

There are five difficulty settings, from Give Me Story to Give Me God of War (God of War Difficulty Modes), and over 70 accessibility features, with presets for vision, hearing, motion and motor needs (God of War Ragnarok Accessibility). The toughest optional fights are Gna the Valkyrie Queen and the Berserker Souls; story bosses include Heimdall, Thor and Odin (God of War Ragnarok Bosses). New players can start with God of War Ragnarok Beginner Tips.

Realms

14:22 Where 2018 left three realms unvisited, Ragnarok goes to all nine, including Svartalfheim, Vanaheim and Asgard, plus Ironwood, where Atreus meets Angrboda. Kratos meets Freyr and fights Nidhogg in Vanaheim and asks Surtr and Sinmara for help in Muspelheim. Each realm is on The Nine Realms.

Editions and PS5 features

The US PlayStation Store sells the Standard Edition at $59.99 on PS4 or $69.99 for PS4 and PS5, and a $79.99 Digital Deluxe Edition with Darkdale armor and attire, a Dark Horse digital art book and the soundtrack, as of Nov 4, 2026. It is in PlayStation Plus Extra. The Collector's and Jotnar Editions, unveiled on Jul 6, 2022, each held a 16-inch Mjolnir replica.

13:22 On PS5 it offers 4K at a targeted 30 fps or a targeted 60 fps upscaled to 4K, DualSense haptics, 3D Audio and fast loading, and it is PS5 Pro Enhanced.

Updates and PC

New Game Plus arrived free on Apr 5, 2023, with new armor, the Spartan Aspis shield and the Niflheim Arena (God of War Ragnarok New Game Plus). Valhalla followed free on Dec 12, 2023, and the Dark Odyssey Collection of looks for the series' 20th anniversary on Mar 20, 2025 (God of War 20th Anniversary).

1:39 The PC version, made with Jetpack Interactive, came out on Steam and the Epic Games Store on Sep 19, 2024 with Valhalla included at no extra cost, DLSS 3.7, FSR 3.1 and XeSS, and ultrawide support. Its minimum is a GTX 1060 and 190 GB on an SSD; the tiers are on God of War PC Requirements.

Reviews

On Nov 4, 2026 Ragnarok held a Metascore of 94 on PS5 from 141 critics and 90 on PC from 41, with a user score of 8.3, and an OpenCritic Top Critic Average of 92, with 96% of 251 critics recommending it. On Steam, 89% of 16,542 English reviews were positive. GameSpot's reviewer finished it in 35 hours. More on God of War Reviews.

Sales

It sold 5.1 million copies in its first week, to Nov 13, 2022, the most for any first-party PlayStation game in a debut week, and more than 15 million on PS4 and PS5 by Nov 19, 2023. Sony has given no total with PC sales as of Nov 4, 2026. See God of War Sales.

Awards

At The Game Awards 2022 it won six: Best Narrative, Best Score and Music, Best Audio Design, Best Performance (Christopher Judge), Innovation in Accessibility and Best Action/Adventure; Elden Ring won Game of the Year. It took seven D.I.C.E. awards, the most that night, and six BAFTAs in 2023, including EE Game of the Year and the two performer awards for Judge and Laya DeLeon Hayes. The full list: God of War Awards.

Frequently asked questions

When did God of War Ragnarok come out? God of War Ragnarok came out on Nov 9, 2022 for PS5 and PS4, and on PC on Sep 19, 2024.

Is God of War Ragnarok on PS4? Yes. God of War Ragnarok launched on PS4 and PS5 together, and a digital PS4 copy can be upgraded to PS5 at a discount.

Do you need to play God of War (2018) before Ragnarok? It helps a great deal: God of War Ragnarok continues the 2018 story directly, with the same cast and the consequences of its ending.

How long is God of War Ragnarok? HowLongToBeat players report about 26½ hours for the main story, 40½ with side content and 55½ for everything, as of Nov 4, 2026.

Is Valhalla included with God of War Ragnarok? Valhalla is a free download for every owner of God of War Ragnarok on PlayStation, and it comes with the PC version.

Is God of War Laufey a sequel to Ragnarok? No. God of War Laufey follows Faye in the afterlife of the gods, starting at her funeral at the opening of the 2018 game; whether it reaches past Ragnarok's events is not known as of Nov 4, 2026. See Where Laufey Fits in the God of War Timeline.

Sources

• God of War: Ragnarok, Metacritic, read Nov 4, 2026
• God of War Ragnarök, PlayStation
• God of War Ragnarök for PC, PlayStation
• God of War Ragnarök accessibility options, PlayStation
• God of War Ragnarök, Steam
• God of War Ragnarök, OpenCritic
• God of War: Ragnarök, HowLongToBeat
• God of War Ragnarok Director Breaks Down Biggest Moments, GameSpot, Nov 21, 2022
• How 'God of War Ragnarök's' Thor Was Inspired by The Hulk, Variety, Nov 11, 2022
• Allfather Knows Best: How Veteran Character Richard Schiff Became the Year's Best Villain, in a Video Game, IndieWire, Nov 18, 2022
• Kratos Voice Actor Christopher Judge Says He Is the Reason God of War: Ragnarok Was Delayed, IGN, Sep 30, 2021
• God of War Ragnarok Ending Explained: What Happens to Kratos?, Den of Geek, Nov 11, 2022
• God of War Ragnarok Difficulty Settings, IGN
• God of War Ragnarok Collector's And Jotnar Editions Unveiled, Game Informer, Jul 6, 2022
• God of War Ragnarök New Game Plus is available now, PlayStation Blog, Apr 5, 2023
• God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla DLC revealed, coming December 12, PlayStation Blog, Dec 7, 2023
• Celebrate God of War's 20th anniversary with God of War Ragnarök Dark Odyssey Collection, PlayStation Blog, Mar 14, 2025
• God of War Ragnarök PC system requirements revealed, PlayStation Blog, Aug 8, 2024
• God Of War Ragnarok Review - Blood, Sweat, And Tyrs, GameSpot, Nov 3, 2022
• God of War: Ragnarok is Sony's fastest-selling first-party title, Engadget, Nov 23, 2022
• 2022 winners, The Game Awards
• DICE Awards 2023 Winners: The Full List, IGN, Feb 23, 2023
• Games Awards 2023, BAFTA
• God of War Ragnarok Secures Six Wins at BAFTA Games Awards 2023, 80 Level, Mar 31, 2023
• First look at God of War Laufey, PlayStation Blog, Jun 2, 2026
• God of War Ragnarok Review, GameSpot, Nov 3, 2022 (video)
• God of War Ragnarok Review, IGN, Nov 3, 2022 (video)
• God of War Ragnarök on PS5 - The Digital Foundry Tech Review, Digital Foundry, Nov 3, 2022 (video)
• God of War Ragnarök PC - DF Tech Review - PC vs PS5 - Optimised Settings, Digital Foundry, Sep 27, 2024 (video)