Whenever PS4 fans discuss the greatest exclusives on the console, there's little doubt God of War will be brought up. The journey of Kratos and Atreus is a severe departure from the original series, but one that has grown well alongside its fans. Now, many are hoping to finally see the next step in that journey.
In fact, nearly every time director Cory Barlog posts anything on his personal Twitter account, the comments are likely to be flooded with requests for the God of War sequel. With its success and high fan demand, it certainly seems like a matter of when, not if. And many are hoping that Wednesday's 1 PM PT PS5 event, where price and release date are expected to finally be revealed, will show also off the next-gen Kratos. As such, the question becomes whether or not this is a reasonable expectation, as well as how much to expect.
God of War PS5
Unfortunately, it is incredibly unlikely that God of War 2 will appear, so fans should temper their expectations. The best point of comparison for a reveal-release schedule is Marvel's Spider-Man and Spider-Man: Miles Morales, the latter being a PS5 launch title. Marvel's Spider-Man released in September 2018, meaning the game is just now two years old. Miles Morales is set to drop later this year, and that's a truly quick turnaround time.
That's because Miles Morales isn't a full-blown sequel. Despite there being initial confusion of whether it's essentially an expansion or a sequel, it's been compared to Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. What this means is that it's not going to be as long, it's going to be a smaller experience, but it's still likely to be a fun standalone game. Likely, this decision was made to give something that would draw-in fans for the PS5 launch, while a proper sequel will likely build from both games in the next couple of years.
God of War isn't in the same position to have a smaller game set between it and the sequel, meaning that fans should see that God of War 2 would be nowhere near release yet. It came out just a few months before Spider-Man, and it followed a 5-year development cycle. 2 years later, expecting a sequel just isn't feasible; in other words, expecting God of War to have some proper or gameplay reveal isn't realistic. Some narrative circles imply that development for the PS5 is much faster than the PS4, but at the same time, it's not likely to shave off 3 years.
What Could Be at The PS5 Event
That said, it doesn't mean it's impossible for something to appear there. After all, assuming it would be 2023 before God of War 2 released, that's just three years away. Games have been announced with release dates further off than that. Perhaps the perfect example is The Elder Scrolls 6, which was announced in 2018 but isn't realistically expected to drop until 2024 or 2025. More recently, Microsoft also announced Avowed for the Xbox Series X, but it's a couple of years away. Fable was also announced, without any indication how far into development it was.
What's important to note is that this doesn't really happen with Sony games, not in recent memory at least. It's unlikely Sony announces God of War 2 without something substantial to show, but because nothing is impossible, it's not impossible some teaser is shown for Kratos, Atreus, Thor, or the story. After all, that would definitely incentivize purchases of the PS5 if the very concept of a potential sequel is enough to do the same. But this is the most fans should reasonably hope for, instead opting to leave expectations at the door and be surprised with what's revealed tomorrow.
God of War 2 has not been announced.