God of War Trilogy Remake and Sons of Sparta: Everything We Know
Sony dropped two bombshells at their recent showcase, and both of them hit me right in the nostalgia. A full remake of the original Greek trilogy and a brand-new game called Sons of Sparta.
February 28, 2026 · 8 min read
Mom of two, gamer for life. I find the best games you can actually finish between school runs and bedtime stories.
Sony dropped two bombshells at their recent showcase, and both of them hit me right in the nostalgia. A full remake of the original Greek trilogy and a brand-new game called Sons of Sparta. After years of Norse mythology, Kratos is going home. And for those of us who grew up tearing Olympus apart with our bare hands, this is the announcement we've been waiting for since 2018.
Let's break down everything we know about both projects, what they mean for the franchise, and why Santa Monica Studio is making the smartest play in PlayStation's current lineup.
The Greek Trilogy Remake
God of War
SIE Santa Monica Studio · Sony Interactive Entertainment
Apr 20, 2018
God of War is the sequel to God of War III as well as a continuation of the canon God of War chronology. Unlike previous installments, this game fo…
Santa Monica Studio is remaking God of War (2005), God of War II, and God of War III from the ground up. Not remasters. Not upscaled ports. Full remakes with modern graphics, rebuilt gameplay systems, and what appears to be significant expansions to each game's content.
Let that sink in for a second. The original God of War launched in 2005 on PS2 and earned an 88 on IGDB. God of War II, widely considered one of the greatest PS2 games ever made, sits at a 93 on Metacritic and 89 on IGDB. God of War III, which brought the trilogy to PS3 with jaw-dropping scale, holds a 92 on Metacritic and 91 on IGDB. These aren't forgotten games being dug up for a quick cash grab. These are some of the highest-rated action games in history, and Santa Monica is rebuilding them with two decades of additional experience.
The trailer showed brief glimpses of the Hydra fight from the original game, rendered in what looks like an evolution of the engine used for God of War Ragnarok. The scale is immediately apparent. The Hydra's heads tower over Kratos with a level of detail that the PS2 original could never approach. Water physics, destruction, lighting. It all looks phenomenal.
But here's what got me more excited than the graphics: the combat footage. The original trilogy used a fixed-camera, combo-heavy action system inspired by Devil May Cry. It was fast, brutal, and satisfying in ways that the newer over-the-shoulder games, as excellent as they are, traded away for a different kind of intensity. The remake appears to be preserving that classic camera perspective while modernizing the combo system. Kratos was chaining Blades of Chaos attacks with a fluidity that suggests a deep, rewarding combat engine. If they nail the feel of the originals while adding modern depth, this could be the definitive way to play these games.
What We Know About the Scope
All three games are being released as a single package. That's massive. The combined runtime of the originals is roughly 30 to 35 hours, and if Santa Monica is expanding content, we could be looking at a 40-to-50-hour collection. The pricing hasn't been confirmed, but a single full-price release for three complete remakes would be reasonable value.
Each game is reportedly getting expanded boss encounters, new side areas, and additional story content that bridges the gaps between the three titles. The original games were fairly linear, and while that linearity was part of their identity, some additional exploration could work well if it's handled carefully. The key is not turning them into open-world games. The Greek trilogy was about forward momentum, an unstoppable force tearing through Greek mythology. That pacing is sacred. Add to it, but don't undermine it.
The remake is confirmed for PS5 and PC. No release date yet, but the quality of the trailer footage suggests it's well into development. A late 2026 or early 2027 release feels plausible.
Sons of Sparta: A New Chapter
The second announcement was less expected and arguably more exciting. Sons of Sparta is a new God of War game that appears to be set in the Greek era, potentially running parallel to or between the events of the original trilogy. The title strongly implies a focus on Kratos's history in Sparta, his military background, and the relationships that defined him before he became the Ghost of Sparta.
Details are sparse. The teaser was mostly atmosphere, with shots of Spartan soldiers, a glimpse of a younger Kratos, and a final reveal of the Blades of Chaos in a context we haven't seen before. The tone felt darker and more grounded than the bombastic mythology of the trilogy, closer to the PSP titles Ghost of Sparta and Chains of Olympus, which explored Kratos's personal history with surprising emotional depth.
If Santa Monica is making a character study of Kratos before his war on the gods, that's a bold creative choice. The Norse saga, particularly God of War (2018) with its 94 on both Metacritic and IGDB, proved that the studio can do nuanced, emotionally complex storytelling. Applying that narrative maturity to the Greek setting could produce something incredible. Young Kratos, still human, still a soldier, wrestling with the rage and grief that would eventually consume him. There's a tragedy in that story that the original games only hinted at.
Gameplay Speculation
We don't have confirmed gameplay details for Sons of Sparta, but the teaser's grounded aesthetic hints at a different approach from the trilogy's over-the-top spectacle. If I had to guess, I'd expect something closer to the 2018 game's intimate combat style but set in Greek mythology's visual language. Smaller scale, higher stakes, more personal.
There's also speculation about multiplayer. God of War: Ascension on PS3 had a surprisingly decent multiplayer mode that never got the audience it deserved. With "Sons" being plural, some fans are wondering if co-op could be part of the package. Kratos and a companion, possibly Deimos, his brother, fighting through Spartan campaigns together. That's pure speculation at this point, but it would differentiate Sons of Sparta from every other game in the series.
Why This Matters for the Franchise
The God of War series has been running for over twenty years, and the franchise's handling has been remarkably consistent. Santa Monica Studio has never farmed out a mainline title to a B-team (the PSP games were developed by Ready at Dawn, but they were treated as premium titles, not cash-ins). The quality bar has stayed high across every generation.
But there's a generational gap now. Players who grew up with the PS4 and PS5 God of War games have never played the Greek originals. They know Kratos as the bearded, reserved father figure from the Norse saga. They've never seen him rip Helios's head off and use it as a flashlight. The Greek trilogy remakes solve this problem elegantly. They bring the original vision to modern hardware and let a new generation understand why Kratos was gaming's most terrifying protagonist for a decade.
For veteran players, the remakes offer a chance to revisit these games with fresh eyes. I've replayed the originals on PS Now and through the PS3 remasters, and while they hold up remarkably well for their age, the camera system and some of the puzzle design show their years. A ground-up remake that preserves the combat feel while modernizing everything around it could be the definitive God of War experience.
Sons of Sparta, meanwhile, represents the future. It's proof that Santa Monica isn't done with Greek mythology, that the Norse saga's conclusion in Ragnarok doesn't mean Kratos is done fighting Olympians. The franchise's mythology is rich enough to support both remakes and new stories, and Sony clearly has the confidence in the IP to fund both simultaneously.
The Bottom Line
Two announcements. Two very different projects. Both aimed at making God of War the centerpiece of PlayStation's lineup for the next few years. The Greek trilogy remake is a love letter to longtime fans and an invitation to newcomers. Sons of Sparta is a creative swing that could expand the franchise in exciting new directions.
I've been playing God of War games since I was a teenager sneaking the M-rated original past my parents. Twenty years later, the series still has the ability to make me feel like a kid again, sitting too close to the TV, jaw hanging open. These announcements hit different when you've been there from the beginning. And if Santa Monica delivers on even half of what they've shown, we're in for something truly special.