is a 2018 action-adventure game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The game was released worldwide for the Playstation 4 in April 2018, with a Windows port released in January 2022. It is the eighth installment in the , the ninth chronologically, and the sequel to 2010's .

Unlike previous games, which were loosely based on Greek mythology, the installment transitioned the series to Norse mythology, with the majority of it set in mythical ancient Scandinavia in the realm of Midgard. For the first time in the series, there are two protagonists: Kratos, the former Greek God of War who remains the only playable character, and his young son Atreus. Following the death of Kratos's second wife and Atreus's mother, Faye, the two embark on a deeply personal journey to fulfill her request that her ashes be spread from the highest peak of the nine realms. Kratos keeps his troubled past a secret from Atreus, who is unaware of his divine nature. Along their journey, they come into conflict with monsters and gods of the Norse world.

Described by the creative director Cory Barlog as a reimagining of the franchise, a major gameplay change is that Kratos makes prominent use of a magical battle axe known as the Levathan Axe instead of his signature double-chained Blades of Chaos.

received universal acclaim from critics for its story, world design, art direction, music, graphics, combat system, and characters, in particular the dynamic between Kratos and Atreus. It was names Game of the Year by numerous media outlets and has been cited as among the greatest video games ever made. The game also performed well commercially, selling over 5 million units within a month of its release and 23 million units sold by November 2022, making it one of the best-selling Playstation 4 games and the best-selling game in the series. A novelization was released in August 2018, followed by a prequel comic series published from November 2018 to June 2021, while a live-action television series is in development for Amazon Prime Video. A sequel, , was released for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 in November 2022, and for Windows in 2024.

is a third-person action-adventure video game. It features an over-the-shoulder free camera (a departure from the previous installments which featured a fixed cinematic camera, with the exception of 2007's two-dimensional side-scroller ). Cinematographically, the game is presented in a continuous shot, with no camera cuts or loading screens. Although the previous main installment, (2013), introduced multiplayer to the series, this installment is single-player-only. Regarding the level structure, creative director Cory Barlog said it's open, but it is not an open world. Due to its openness, a fast travel feature is unlocked later in the game. Swimming, an ability in previous games, was cut; players instead use a boat to traverse bodies of water. Unlike previous games, which allowed players to jump freely at any time, jumping can now only be done at designated areas, such as at a rock face or ledge. Throughout the game, players battle Norse mythological foes, like dark elves, wulvers, and draugrs, as well as Gullveig and the revenants, beings warped by seiðr magic, among many others. Valkyries appear as optional secret boss battles throughout the six playable locations. Among the many side quests, players can free the imprisoned dragons Fáfnir, Otr, and Reginn—dwarves who were turned into dragons—in addition to battling one called Hræzlyr, a story-based boss battle.

Development on the next began in 2014. This was confirmed by Santa Monica Studio's creative director Cory Barlog at the inaugural PlayStation Experience on December 6 that year, where Barlog said the game was in very early development and that it would not be a prequel but possibly a reboot. In April 2016, concept art was leaked that showed images of Kratos in the world of Norse mythology, a concept originally considered by series creator David Jaffe after Kratos eliminated the Greek gods. The game's official announcement came at the 2016 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) with a gameplay demo that confirmed the setting. The demo showed a fully bearded Kratos teaching his son how to hunt. The pair also battled a troll. The end of the demo showed the title and confirmed it was in development for the PlayStation 4 (PS4). The E3 announcement also confirmed that Barlog had returned to the series as game director for the new installment. Since the original 2005 game, Barlog had been a major contributor in the development of the series, previously most notably as the director of (2007); this installment was his fifth game.

Barlog said the game was titled with no numeral or subtitle because, although it was a continuation of the series, we ... [reimagined] everything.[26][24] Head of Santa Monica Studio, Shannon Studstill, and Barlog said that Sony Interactive Entertainment had to be convinced to do another game as many people at Sony wanted the series to sleep and rest due to the lackluster response to the previous game, . In explaining why Barlog was brought back, Studstill said he knew the series very well, and bringing in someone that understands that history is the respect the franchise deserves. Barlog responded, You gotta know the rules to break the rules.

In explaining the transition from Greek mythology to Norse mythology, Barlog said: It's kind of this BC–AD change over kind of thing. We're moving and starting from zero and kind of moving forward on that. In adapting the Norse myths, Barlog said there were many different translations and interpretations, and the writing team read the to learn how the myths were translated and told. Just like they did with Greek mythology in the previous games, they found ways to parallel path things from the Norse myths to fit their story. Before settling on Norse mythology, Egyptian mythology was also considered. Barlog said that half of the team was for it, but because Egypt has a lot more about civilization – it's less isolated, less barren, he decided on the Norse setting to keep the game focused on Kratos. Barlog explained further: Having too much around distracts from that central theme of a stranger in a strange land. To explain why Kratos was now in the Norse world, Barlog said that different cultures' belief systems coexisted, but they were separated by geography, suggesting that Kratos traveled from Greece to Norway (Scandinavia) after the conclusion of . Clarifying the conclusion of that game, Barlog said that Kratos did not destroy what was believed to be the entire world, but only the portion ruled over by the Greek pantheon.[10] Barlog also said the newer game predated the Vikings, taking place in the time when their gods walked the Earth.

A new trailer was shown at E3 2017, featuring new gameplay, cinematics, and characters. In it, Kratos is shown using a shield offensively and defensively. At one point, Kratos finds a Greek vase with himself on it, wielding his infamous double-chained blades. During the trailer, an unnamed woman warns Kratos about the Norse gods, as they knew what he did to the Greek gods, while a pair of wolves are also shown. The trailer ends with Kratos and Atreus encountering the World Serpent. Atreus is able to translate its request to help the pair. It was confirmed that the game would release in early 2018. Until the game's launch, Santa Monica included a section on the website titled , detailing some of the lore of 's Nordic world. In January 2018, the game's release date was confirmed for April 20, 2018. A trailer was also released that showed that the mythological character Mímir would have a role in the game. went gold on March 22.

was released on April 20, 2018, by Sony Classical Records. It was composed by Bear McCreary, who is best known for his work on television shows like and . McCreary was called into Santa Monica Studio in November 2014 to meet with music producers Peter Scaturro and Keith Leary to discuss a secret project; McCreary had previously collaborated with Scaturro and Leary on 2011's . Ideas of folk music, mythology, Nordic ethnic instruments, vocal writing, and classical thematic development were discussed; McCreary correctly guessed that the discussions were about a new . McCreary met with Barlog early on to discuss his narrative vision for the game. After meeting with him, McCreary felt the franchise was in good hands because , which Barlog also directed, was his favorite installment.

During the initial discussions, McCreary realized he needed to compose completely new music for the game and not reuse any previous music from the series. He said that although he loved those games, he would not describe them as emotionally dynamic. Based on his memory of the earlier games' music, however, he was inspired by their sounds, such as deep choirs, pounding drums, and shrieking brass, and reinvented them for the Nordic setting. To ensure the music represented the setting, McCreary spent months researching and listening to Viking folk music, which resulted in him using exotic instrumentation and languages from various Northern European folk traditions. He also wanted the score to be huge and varied, full of peaks and valleys, tiny incantations and gigantic set pieces. The main Kratos theme in particular features low orchestral instruments, an Icelandic choir, deep male vocals, powerful female vocals (in particular Faroese singer Eivør Pálsdóttir), folk percussion, and Nordic stringed instruments, like the nyckelharpa and hurdy gurdy. The track uses a renaissance and baroque instrument called a viola da gamba, which is an ancestor of the modern cello. The Stranger's theme, found in the track , uses a Hardanger fiddle.