God of War Director Explains Why There Won’t Be A Norse Trilogy

The end is nigh. God Of War: Ragnarok - the long-awaited sequel to the critically acclaimed God of War - is finally on its way, and after having seen some footage of the game, we can finally say for certain that it looks remarkable. Only, the game’s reveal comes with a bitter sting - this is it.

This is the last game in the God of War series, or at least the last game that will follow the story that began with 2018’s reboot. Fans are upset, but excited, to see the story come to a close.

Many fans are wondering why the team wouldn’t be willing to round the story out with a trilogy - and the game’s director has given his reasons.

Cory Barlog Reveals Why ‘God Of War’ Isn’t A Trilogy

In an interview with YouTuber Kaptain Kuba, Cory Barlog, God of War: Ragnarok’s Producer and Director of God of War, has revealed why the series won’t be taking the shape of a trilogy.

“The core of the story’s engine is really the relationship between these two characters and the complexity radiates out like ripples in a pond", says Barlog. "And we could make it an ocean and just have those ripples go for thousands of miles, but is that necessary and is that beneficial, or are we feeling like ‘you know what, it’s just spreading it too far apart’. The ripples get too far apart, and you sort of lose the plot a bit."

It’s a fair point to make, as the poignancy from the God of War story could always have been lost if the team chose to tell too much just for the sake of extending the series into a trilogy. There’s also another reason that the game series won’t be a trilogy, and to be fair, it’s reasonable.

A God Of War Trilogy Would Take Too Long To Develop

"I think one of the most important reasons is the first game took five years", said Barlog of God of War’s development. "The second game, I don’t know how long it’s going to take but I’m just going to throw out that it’s going to take close to a similar time to do this, right.

"If you think, wow, a third one in that same [amount of time], we’re talking like a span of close to 15 years of a single story and I feel like that’s just too stretched out."

So, God of War will end with Ragnarok. It’s fitting, and though it’ll be sad to say farewell to the series with the upcoming game, we’re confident that Santa Monica Studio will make sure it goes off with a bang. As for what's next, it's easy to imagine Kratos moving to another era of history just like Assassin's Creed has done so many times before.