It seems safe to say that the God of War Ragnarok sequel is one of the most anticipated games of 2021, and that's with next to nothing known about the game. Indeed, there's no solid information indicating that God of War Ragnarok is even its title, with just a simple logo, a statement that "Ragnarok is Coming," and a promised 2021 release date all just being what's official about the game.
In many ways, this promise is not far-fetched, but a lot of these ways rely on something that the world hasn't seen for quite some time: normalcy. If development God of War Ragnarok began before or just after the 2018 version released, as many successful franchises with planned sequels do, a fall 2021 release date is not unfathomable. It's important to consider how much of Santa Monica Studio's hand has been shown, though, and even that comes with the caveat that its hand doesn't truly matter.
That is to say, the existence of God of War's 2018 release had been known about since 2014 with a brief confirmation. Then, come 2016, the game debuted at E3 with a near 10-minute demo of Kratos and Atreus fighting a troll, which only provided that it was on development for PS4. The release date, obviously, did not come until nearly two years later, and what fans were provided of its sequel was only a brief teaser trailer. This trailer could have shown this much information in 2019 and still likely be accurate, but at the same time, Santa Monica Studio doesn't really have to do much marketing on God of War. Case in point: God of War's sequel will sell whenever it releases, regardless of how much information is revealed beforehand, but the question becomes: what are reasonable expectations for the game in 2021?
Hope for the Best: God of War Ragnarok Trailers, Official Reveal, and Release Date
Chances are, if God of War Ragnarok does indeed intend to release in 2021, then marketing of some sort will begin soon. What form this takes can likely be limited to one or two solid trailers, with bits of information spread throughout the year. This would likely be led by an "official reveal," but this would likely take place no later than E3...or its summertime equivalent given the world circumstances. The way it is, expecting it to release before fall 2021 may be a bit of a stretch. It could be that a trailer drops tomorrow and that it releases in April, as even 3 months would be enough to drum up anticipation for the game, but that's not often the case.
The bottom line is, though, that the existence of God of War sequel is out in the wild. Whenever it happens, fans can reasonably expect to hear more about the game, how it takes advantage of PS5 features, and if there's any major breaks from the last game. All of this is information that can be reasonably expected before releases, but when this information comes does hinge on the fact that its release should be taken with a grain of salt.
Prepare for the Worst: Hogwarts Legacy Was Likely the First of Many
2020 felt the impact of COVID in the gaming industry, and 2021 is likely no different. Whereas games that released early last year were mostly through development and some fall games still made release due to their development schedules, working from home and more are factors throughout 2020 and into 2021 as well that cannot be ignored. As a result, it wouldn't be surprising to see several games follow in Hogwarts Legacy's footsteps and announce delays. For God of War, this may just be a simple delay into 2022, it may not happen at all, but right now, it does not seem it's off the table.
This is furthered by how little attention has been paid to God of War since its teaser. Shortly thereafter, a trailer revealed several windows for games like Ratchet and Clank and Horizon Forbidden West where God of War went ignored. Even more recently, Sony revealed several PS5 game release windows that include the likes of Pragmata, Stray, and even Square Enix's mysterious Project Athia. This seems right for games that have been revealed for much longer, but given that Stray is a game about a cat and that Project Athia has shown little and confirmed even less, the God of War Ragnarok sequel's absence is hard to ignore. These dates ranged from March 2021 all the way to 2023, and it's still MIA.
By no means is this enough to confirm that the new God of War game is delayed, but it's enough to offer pause. God of War is a special franchise to many, especially after the latest entry in the franchise, and it'll likely be worth the wait. Whether that wait is until the end of 2021 or into 2022, fans should keep an ear out for new information. For now, the biggest indicator for the game's future will be how much or how little it reveals in the coming months.
The God of War Ragnarok sequel is in development.