Is God of War coming to PC?
In 2020, Horizon Zero Dawn became the first big, first-party Sony exclusive to launch on PC. It was a big moment for PC gaming, a sign that there might come a time when other beloved Sony exclusives, like Bloodborne and The Last of Us 2, are available outside the PlayStation, with all the perks PC gaming has to offer. The question is: Which games will actually come to PC, and when?
Behind Bloodborne, God of War may be the most sought-after PC port from Sony's lineup. Kratos has a trophy case full of Game of the Year awards, and the 2018 game stands alone, even if you haven't played any of the older games in the series. Sony hasn't said anything about porting God of War to PC, and unlike Bloodborne, it hasn't been heavily rumored.
But Sony has indicated it intends to bring more of its first-party exclusives to PC, and that makes God of War a likely candidate. Here's what we know about God of War's chances of a PC port—and how you can play the older God of War games on PC already, thanks to PlayStation Now.
Straight to the point: Will God of War come to PC?
Short answer: Maybe. We don't know!
Long answer: In August 2020, a Sony financial report said "We will explore expanding our 1st party titles to the PC platform... in order to promote further growth in our profitability." That could mean God of War, but we could rattle off plenty of other exclusives Sony could go with, instead.
One argument in favor of a God of War port, though, is its sequel. God of War 2, which may be subtitled Ragnarok, is currently scheduled to release in 2021. A PC release of the first game a few months ahead of the new one would be a good way to capitalize on fan excitement, and maybe even sell a few PC gamers a PlayStation 5.
God of War's director would love to see it on PC, but...
Back in 2019, God of War director Cory Barlog tweeted he would "love" God of War to be released on PC, but that the decision is "far above his paygrade."
You know, I would love that. It is, sadly, a decision far above my paygrade. As is proven on a daily basis, I am no Kojima.October 29, 2019
It's nice to know Barlog is in favor, but ultimately what matters is whether Sony wants to invest the time and money into a PC port.
God of War PC rumors haven't amounted to much
Job listings at Naughty Dog indicated a PC port of The Last of Us 2 is likely, and a Bloodborne PC port has been rumored for years, at this point. With God of War, however, there hasn't really been anything to get our hopes up.
In mid-2020, a podcaster claimed God of War was coming to PC in August. Cory Barlog quickly shot down the news, and August came and went with no God of War port.
You can play all the old Gold of War games on PlayStation Now
If you count Sony's PlayStation Now streaming service, you can actually play the entire God of War series except the 2018 reboot (and a couple mobile/web tie-ins) on PC right now. Here's the selection of God of War games available on PlayStation Now:
- God of War HD
- God of War II HD
- God of War Remastered
- God of War: Ascension
- God of War: Chains of Olympus
- God of War: Ghosts of Sparta
While the new God of War was temporarily playable via PSNow, Sony removed it in 2020. It's possible it will be back in rotation someday, as Sony makes some of its exclusives available to stream for a limited time.
Not familiar with PlayStation Now? It's a cloud-based streaming subscription service, a bit like GeForce Now or Google Stadia, that lets you stream PlayStation games to a console or PC. PlayStation Now costs $10 per month (or $60 for a year). When we tried the PC client for PlayStation Now back in 2016, we found its performance good enough, even without a fast internet connection. Latency wasn't much of an issue, but video quality wasn't exactly great, either.
But that was in 2016. Our colleagues at Techradar say PSNow has "vastly improved since launch," but without a rock solid internet connection, you might run into some issues. Some God of War PC ports sure could solve that problem.
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