The narrative director behind the recent God of War reboots, Matt Sophos revealed in a podcast that Kratos was going to have a different fate in God of War Ragnarök.

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In a recent interview with MinnMax, the narrative director of God of War Ragnarök, Matt Sophos, discussed the fate of the main character, Kratos. In the previous instalment of the game, Kratos sees a mural of his own death, implying that it could happen in the upcoming game.

However, in Ragnarök, Kratos does not die, and Sophos was asked if the team had ever planned to actually kill him off.

Sophos revealed that there was an early version of the game’s outline in which Kratos died in the Thor fight at the beginning of the game. However, this death was not meant to be permanent, as he would have been pulled out of Hell by Atreus after a time jump of 20 years.

Sophos explained that the team eventually decided against this storyline because Kratos had already died and come back too many times in the previous games, which would make his death less emotionally impactful for players.

The current ending of the game, in which Kratos is still alive, was chosen to send a message to players that their fates are not predetermined. The game’s story is about letting go and making changes in life, which is contrary to Norse mythology’s themes of fate and prophecy.

Sophos said that they wanted to challenge the idea that everything is predetermined, and players can change their destiny if they are willing to make changes in their lives.

Kratos’ survival was also critical for the game’s message. If Kratos had died in Ragnarök, the story would have implied that he couldn’t change, which was not what the team wanted to convey. Therefore, Kratos’ survival was necessary to show that anyone can change their fate if they are willing to do so.

The narrative director of God of War Ragnarök discussed the game’s early drafts and how they decided against killing off Kratos permanently. The game’s story is about letting go and making changes, which is why Kratos’ survival was critical to the game’s message.