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God of War is a franchise of action-adventure and hack and slash games developed primarily by Santa Monica Studios and published by Sony Computer Entertainment and Sony Interactive Entertainment. The first title in the franchise is 2005's God of War, and the latest title is 2022's God of War: Ragnarök.
The franchise is primarily split into two different sagas: the Greek saga and the Norse saga, each based on their respective mythological sources. The Greek saga revolves around Kratos, a vengeful demigod, as he seeks revenge against the gods of Olympus for their wrongdoings and transgressions against him. The son of Zeus, Kratos was a former Spartan general, serving under the whim of Ares until the Greek God of War tricked Kratos into killing his wife and daughter. As Kratos rises in his power after killing Ares, the gods of Olympus seek to stop Kratos' ascension as the new God of War, prompting Kratos to commit himself to a rampage of vengeance against the Olympic pantheon, chiefly his father, Zeus. After his conquest ends, Kratos unleases the horrors of Pandora's Box on the world; to prevent the world's total annihilation, Kratos attempts to kill himself, before escaping into the sea.
The Norse saga follows Kratos over a hundred years later, now living in isolation in Norway. After burying his second wife, Kratos and his son, Atreus, attempt to journey to Jötunheim to spread her ashes. However, they are impeded by the Aesir gods, led by Odin, who seek to destroy Kratos due to his wife and son's connection to the Jötnar. As their journey continues, Kratos and Atreus' actions inadvertently cause the beginning of Ragnarök, and the two begin to seek a way to stave it off.
Santa Monica Studio has expressed interest in visiting other mythologies through the lens of the God of War franchise, including Egyptian and Japanese mythology. Egyptian mythology was briefly explored in the 2021 spin-off comic series, God of War: Fallen God.