For years, the consensus among the God of War faithful was that Greece was a graveyard, a charred, flooded ruin that Kratos had outgrown. The “Soft Reboot” of 2018 was a big shift from teenage nihilism to fatherly stoicism. Yet, following the recent PlayStation State of Play, the wind is blowing south. Sony has answered one question about GoW’s future and raised a few more.
With the shadowdrop of the 2.5D prequel God of War: Sons of Sparta and the confirmation of a full-scale remake of the original trilogy, Santa Monica Studio has made it clear the franchise isn’t being mothballed. What remained unclear was whether the modern, Norse-era Kratos had any road left to travel.
That uncertainty may now have a partial answer.
Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson reports that a source told him the next mainline God of War game will give Kratos a scythe as his signature weapon. Henderson believes this could be an indication of the entry’s return to Greek mythology.
“I’ve got a feeling that it’s going to go back to Greek mythology,” he said.
Henderson’s timing theory actually holds water. Sony would likely launch the original trilogy remakes first to prime the audience before they drop a new Greek mainline entry a year later. This strategy creates a perfect narrative bookend for the series. If the next big title features a return to the Mediterranean, the studio needs the audience to remember what Kratos left behind.
New players who only know Kratos as a tired father would understand the raw scale of his younger rage. They would walk into the new chapter with the context they need to appreciate his growth. Sony has been playing the long game with the franchise for a decade, and for me, this move fits their playbook. It connects the old with the new to avoid a disjoint and is a way to ensure the emotional stakes land where they should.
Storywise, Kratos has spent two games from his past. To complete his arc as a “God of Hope,” he cannot find peace in a foreign land, so he must eventually face the ghost of the world he broke.
Fans are betting everything on a single mention of the scythe. If Tom Henderson’s source is right, that’s all we’ve got to go on; everything else is just us trying to fill in the blanks. Although some have assumed a return to the underworld, the weapon itself carries geographic baggage.
In Greek myth, the scythe (or harpe) is the weapon of Cronus, used to overthrow Uranus and later the tool Perseus wielded to slay Medusa. If Kratos goes back to Greece, Titan’s weapon in his hands will mean he is not a destroyer, but a grim reaper, sent to clear the rot to allow new life to grow.
Conversely, the scythe could easily be a misidentified khopesh, the curved sickle-sword of ancient Egypt. Given that the Valhalla DLC teased Kratos’s awareness of other pantheons, a trek to the Nile is the most logical escalation.
What this report does confirm is that Santa Monica’s secret project, reported last week as neither a new IP nor a spin-off, can be a true progression of the main lineup. Christopher Judge’s Kratos, and the more complex version of the character built across the God of War (2018) and God of War: Ragnarok, won’t retire anytime soon.
The next main installment, reportedly directed by Cory Barlog and slated for a potential 2027 release, won’t be another Kratos vs. The Pantheon bloodbath. The protagonist has already burned the world down once.
I don’t care where Kratos goes next. Just send him somewhere worth going, as this guy has stories left to tell. Santa Monica is cooking up something big, and if they can take the series forward instead of shelving it, fans will have every reason to stay invested.
