God of War: Sons of Sparta Surprise-Launches on PS5 as 2D Prequel

Surprise Launch During State of Play

Sony announced and immediately released God of War: Sons of Sparta during today's PlayStation State of Play broadcast. The 2D pixel-art action platformer is available now on PS5, offering a prequel story set at the earliest point in the franchise's timeline, following a young Kratos training alongside his brother Deimos at the Spartan Agoge, long before the events of the original God of War.

The shadow drop caught the gaming community completely off guard. State of Play presentations typically showcase upcoming titles with release windows months or years out, making this instant availability a rare move for a franchise as prominent as God of War.

Unlike the recent Norse saga entries, Sons of Sparta adopts a retro aesthetic with hand-drawn pixel animation and side-scrolling gameplay. The game was developed by Mega Cat Studios, a Pittsburgh-based indie studio known for their retro game work, in collaboration with Santa Monica Studio. Crucially, the story was written by the same team behind God of War (2018) and Ragnarök, and TC Carson returns as narrator, reprising his role as Kratos for the first time since 2013. Finally getting to experience Kratos' earliest days firsthand fills in a significant gap in the character's history.

The shift to 2D pixel art is a bold creative choice that lets the game stand on its own merits as a side story rather than being judged as a lesser version of the mainline titles, a smart way to set expectations from the start.

Original Trilogy Remakes Confirmed

Alongside the Sons of Sparta reveal, Sony confirmed that the original PS2 God of War trilogy is receiving full remake treatment. The project is described as still being in very early development, with no gameplay footage or release window provided. TC Carson appeared at the State of Play to confirm the project and will return to reprise his role as Kratos.

The timing makes sense. The 2018 soft reboot and Ragnarök introduced millions of players to Kratos who never experienced his Greek saga origins. Those games reference the original trilogy constantly, but newer fans only know those stories secondhand. Full remakes would let that expanded audience experience the complete arc.

The real challenge will be deciding how faithful to stay to the original design. The Greek era games featured fixed camera angles, combo-heavy combat, and puzzle design that were products of their time. Do you preserve that arcade-like feel, or adapt it closer to the over-the-shoulder style of the recent entries? That decision alone will likely determine how the remakes are received.

Studio Named After a Cat

The development studio behind Sons of Sparta, Mega Cat Studios, takes its name from an actual cat. According to founder James Deighan, speaking on the official PlayStation Podcast, the studio was named after a beloved pet that had passed away, a detail that came up alongside the story of a team member who volunteers at a local animal shelter fostering kittens. It is the kind of humanizing touch that cuts through the corporate veneer of a major franchise announcement.

Mega Cat Studios is not a small unknown team operating within Sony's ecosystem. It is an established independent studio based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with prior credits including Five Nights at Freddy's: Into the Pit and a catalogue of retro cartridge games. Sons of Sparta represents their most high-profile project to date.

The game has received mixed reviews since launch, sitting at a 73 on Metacritic. There has also been notable backlash over how the co-op mode was communicated on the PlayStation Store. The store page advertised two-player couch co-op, leading many to buy the game expecting to play through the story with a partner, only to find that co-op is locked behind completing the main campaign. Santa Monica Studio addressed the confusion on social media, but the misleading description had already prompted refund requests from a number of players.

Whether Sons of Sparta serves as a one-off experiment or the start of a new subseries remains to be seen. Either way, it is clear that Sony is willing to tell Kratos' story in unexpected ways.