Rather than span another trilogy, God of War Ragnarök will fully conclude Kratos and Atreus' story, a decision that could have gone either way for developer Santa Monica Studio.

According to a God of War Ragnarök behind-the-scenes video, titled "Shaping the Story," the team behind Ragnarök heavily debated whether to stretch out the franchise's soft reboot by an extra title. According to lead writer Rich Gaubert, "There were obviously pros and cons for either approach, so we waited for Cory Barlog to weigh in, and he did. And he said 'let's do it in two.'" Due to Barlog's input, Senior Producer Ariel Angelotti noted that the sequel would be "bigger than what we initially envisioned," including more story moments and additional characters compared to its predecessor.

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Picking up three years after the 2018 release, God of War: Ragnarök follows Kratos and Atreus as they race against time to stop Ragnarök, the Norse Day of Judgement. This event was heavily teased throughout God of War's story, with its post-credit scene foreshadowing a dark confrontation between Kratos and Thor after the former Greek God killed his two sons Modi and Magni. Ragnarök's latest trailer revealed a first glimpse of Kratos' battle against Thor, as well as a partnership with Tyr -- the Norse War God -- and tensions between Kratos and a now-older Atreus on what his son's future holds. Atreus' growth extends to his teenage mo-cap actor Sunny Suljic, whose lines were heavily edited after Suljic's voice broke during production.

What Lies Ahead for Kratos and Atreus?

On top of its cast and brand-new gameplay features, Ragnarök will see the return of longtime allies like wiseman head

Mimir and dwarven smith brothers Brok and Sindri. Also returning are adversaries like Freya, Odin's ex-wife who initially served as Kratos and Atreus' friend, but swore vengeance against them after Kratos killed Freya's son Baldur to save her life. Photos of the new cast were revealed during a 2021 PlayStation Showcase, though character models and a voice actor for Odin have yet to be announced. It's also unknown whether Carole Ruggier and Cory Burton will return as Athena and Zeus, with both original God of War deities appearing to Kratos in the last game as hallucinations.

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In terms of playtime, God of War Ragnarök will reportedly be 40 hours long. Of this length, 20 hours will each be devoted to Ragnarök's main story campaign and side quests, with the former including 3 and a half hours of cinematic cutscenes.

God of War Ragnarök will release on Nov. 9 for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.

Source: YouTube