The highly anticipated PlayStation game God of War Ragnarok is planned for release this November, according to three people familiar with the game’s development, despite reports this week that it had slipped to 2023.
Publisher Sony Group Corp. is expected to announce the release date later this month, two of the people said.
God of War Ragnarok, the latest entry in the long-running series and a direct sequel to 2018’s God of War, was announced in 2020 for PlayStation consoles. Sony has delayed the game several times since then, both publicly and internally, as its developers deal with the pandemic and other production challenges. Earlier this year it was planned for September, but it was recently bumped to November. A spokesman for Sony didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The new game is expected to be a big hit and one of Sony’s key pieces of software as it works through hardware challenges. The Japanese video game publisher and manufacturer has been unable to make enough PlayStation 5 consoles to keep up with demand, costing it market share. God of War Ragnarok will be available both on the new console and on the old PlayStation 4, which has sold more than 117 million units, giving the game a substantial install base. The first game sold nearly 20 million copies.
A recent report from the European gaming website GameReactor, combined with the game’s absence at big industry events such as the Summer Games Fest and Sony’s own State of Play, led to speculation that God of War Ragnarok wouldn’t be out until 2023.
No dates are certain in the turbulent world of game development and it may still be delayed again. But as of this week it’s still on track for November, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing information that isn’t public.
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