God of War Ragnarok was finally unveiled this month, teasing an epic adventure with Kratos and his son Atreus as they seek answers as well as a way to stop Ragnarok from happening. While the “first era” of the God of War franchise was set in Ancient Greece, spanned 5 total years across 3 core titles, and was followed up with expansions, various other spin-offs, and installments. The series’ “second era” has loosely followed along with Norse mythology and it appears devs aren’t looking to take quite as long to tell their story.

According to a recent interview with Santa Monica Studio, Cory Barlog reveals that the team is aiming to wrap up the current story with the upcoming installment. YouTube channel Kaptain Kuba hosted the recent exchange with the developers as they delved into the decision to bring this chapter of Kratos’ life to a close. They explained that ultimately, the team doesn’t want players to wait a whole 15 years, like last time, to play out the Ragnarok story.

“I think one of the most important reasons is the first game took five years, 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, and then 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.”

In the interview, Barlog explained that even though the story of God of War and Ragnarok is rife with material that the team could potentially work with, the core experience is still driven by the relationship between father and son, Kratos and Atreus. If the second era of the franchise was to continue, it would eventually water down that relationship and it isn’t something that the team wants to give up.

“Most of what we were trying to do from the beginning was to tell something about Kratos and Atreus, that 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,” Barlog explained. “And we could make it an ocean and make those ripples go for thousands of miles, but is that necessary and is that beneficial, or are we feeling like it’s just spreading it too far apart, the ripples get too far apart, and you sort of lose the plot a little bit.”

The idea that players will be able to experience the end of the current era in the God of War franchise from start to finish in just two games is intriguing, to say the least. Still, there will be more to come for the franchise, the question becomes, where will the developers go next? The devs have hinted at other ancient settings in the past, but perhaps it might be too early to speculate, especially since it’s still anyone’s guess where the story of Ragnarok might leave off.

God of War Ragnarok is set to be a PlayStation exclusive available on both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. Let us know your thoughts on the short two-title adventure for father and son through Norse mythology and more in the comments section below. As always, don’t forget to follow Don’t Feed the Gamers on Twitter for 24/7 coverage of all things gaming and entertainment.

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