The 10 BIGGEST God of War Controversies
A Change in Kratos
God of War (2018)
From the 2005 original to 2013s Ascension, Kratos was voiced by TC Carson. But as we all know, he was replaced by Christopher Judge during the Norse era. This came as a pretty big shock to Carson, who claims he was never notified by Sony about the change and called the move unprofessional. Its undeniably crummy to treat the voice behind one of your most famous characters so disrespectfully. Cory Barlog, director of the 2018 game, stated the change was so that the stature of Kratos actor would match his body, since everything was motion-captured. Still, Carson deserved to at least be kept in the loop.
Fat Thor
God of War Ragnarök (2022)
Teased in the 2018 game to be a major antagonist in the follow-up, the reveal of Thor caused a debate within the God of War fandom. Some very vocal fans were against him being fat, featuring a prominent gut. Maybe this was due to Chris Hemsworths chiseled appearance in the MCU, or just because they felt like this made him less intimidating. Either way, those that were for this design were quick to point out that it was accurate in Norse texts. Not that loyalty to traditional myth has ever stopped the developers from changing things before. The beer gut also comes from Thors excessive drinking, a major part of his characterization and arc. Plus, this in no way affected how intimidating he was. This design controversy was somewhat overshadowed by that of another character, but well get to that later.
Trophy Changes
God of War: Ascension (2013) & God of War III Remastered (2015)
God of War: Ascension is far from the most popular entry, but one of its trophies caused a bit of a stir on release. After completing Chapter 20, players are rewarded the Bros Before Hos trophy. Several reviewers criticized it for being misogynistic, notably Adam Sessler of Rev3Games, since you earn it after brutally murdering one of the Furies, the female villains. Director Todd Papy commented on the controversy, saying it was actually a female producer who came up with it. Still, Sony decided to change the trophys name to Bros Before Foes as a way to appease those offended. And when God of War III Remastered was released in 2015, it seemingly tried to get ahead of any similar controversies. The trophy I didnt do itbut I wish I did, earned in the original version after killing Poseidons Princess, was removed. Two others had their names changed; Hooker, earned after killing Hades, was changed to Depths Below, and Are you horny to win?, earned for finding all of the Minotaur Horns, was changed to Horn of Plenty.
The Copyright Infringement Lawsuit
In 2008, Sony and series creator David Jaffe were hit with a lawsuit that claimed God of War stole certain elements in relation to characters, themes, plot, and other aspects. The accusers were Jonathan Bissoon-Dath and Jennifer Barrette-Herzog, who had submitted several treatments and screenplays for a potential film to their agents, who shopped it around at several studios, allegedly including Sony Pictures. However, two years later, the case was dismissed by the judge. While there were similar elements, notably violence and setting, it was ruled that their film ideas lacked the thematic centrality and intensity of the games. An example was given, about the protagonist refusing to kill a rampaging Nemean Lion and instead taming it, something that Greek-era Kratos would never do. All the lawsuit managed to do was briefly cast doubt on the series, while wasting time and money.
The PC Launch
God of War Ragnarök (2022)
In recent years, Sony has been trying to grow the audience of several franchises by bringing games to PC. Unfortunately, this hasnt always gone well. When God of War Ragnarök made the jump to Steam in 2024, it was review bombed over Sonys insistence that players have a PSN account to connect to the game, despite PSN not being available in certain countries and this game being single player with no online modes or features. In response to the backlash, Sony eventually removed the requirement for this game and others, but that was far from Raganröks only issue. It also launched with a slew of technical issues, such as framerate drops, mouses and controllers just not working, and crashes, even on high-end PCs and after troubleshooting. Even after patches, some players still had to find their own solutions.
The Goat Event
God of War II (2007)
To promote the launch of God of War II, Sony threw a themed party in May of 2007. It was covered by Official UK PlayStation Magazine, and that story was unfavorably picked up by The Daily Mail. The only thing was, since no one at the Daily Mail actually attended the event, their coverage was based on the invitation and not what actually happened. For example, the tabloid claimed guests were encouraged to reach inside a dead goat and eat its entrails. In actuality, the entrails were a traditional Greek meat soup. And while a dead goat was there, it was only to add to the theme and was returned to the butcher shop later. Still, Sony did apologize about featuring a dead goat, and recalled 80,000 copies of that issue of Official UK PlayStation Magazine, which apparently did try to sensationalize the event with the pictures it chose.
Censorship
God of War is an incredibly violent series, especially the Greek-era games. And that hasnt always gone over well in certain countries. Most of the games have had to undergo intense censorship in order to be released, particularly when it comes to violence and sexuality. For example, in the Japanese versions of the original games, Kratos cant kill any innocent civilians nor can anyone be dismembered. And any instance of nudity throughout is censored by having characters fully clothed. Specific deaths have also been censored, such as Polluxs death from Ascension in Germany, Hercules death from God of War III in Japan, and the Spartan soldiers from the original game. In the European and Japanese versions, these humans are turned into monsters. This is a unique case of the story being altered, since Kratos sacrifices one of them, a scene that speaks volumes towards his character.
Going Too Far
God of War III (2010)
Like I said, God of War has always been a violent series. When God of War III was released, and American reviewers got their hands on the uncensored version, some felt that it had gone too far. Indeed, some of the most brutal deaths from the entire franchise can be found in this entry. Even though producer Steve Caterson claimed prior to release that they never did anything just for the sake of being sensationalist or controversial, always aligning it with Kratos character, others felt differently. GameCritics.com called the violence over-the-top and that the game didnt have much depth or maturity, likening it to a teenage boy's resolution to an adult series. Elsewhere, The Georgia Straight called its violence sadistic. These types of reviews still admitted that the game was entertaining, but that its brutality had crossed a line.
Angrbodas Race
God of War Ragnarök (2022)
Ooooooooh boy. Some people got very upset over this one. As soon as Angrboda was revealed to be Black in God of War Ragnarök, some players immediately started picking fights on the internet on the grounds that, according to them, there arent supposed to be any Black people in Norse mythology. This was seen as pretty silly by a lot of others, considering Sony has been making giant changes to mythological tales since before the first game was even released. No one seemed to mind that Kratos has nothing in common with his Greek namesake, or that Loki is his son instead of Odins oath brother. Nevermind that Angrboda belongs to a fictional race from a realm outside of Midgard, essentially Norse myths Earth. And in this case, her race didnt even impact the story, just made some people happy that a dev was finally getting Black hair right. If you dont like Angrboda because it changes whats seen in mythology, then you also shouldnt like the series to begin with.
Amazons Adaptation
Something we can all agree on, however, is that Amazons upcoming series adaptation has been in trouble from the start. Ignoring the fact that it arguably doesnt need to exist, since it was said to retell the Norse games, a story thats already been told so well and so recently, there are a few details making fans nervous. It was announced in 2022, with Amazon enlisting showrunners from its other shows, Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby of The Expanse, and Rafe Judkins of The Wheel of Time. Unfortunately, all three left in October of 2024 when development was restarted as Sony and Amazon reportedly wanted to move in a different direction. Ronald D. Moore of Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica and Outlander then came on as showrunner. But he later revealed that he gave up trying to play any of the games since he found them too complicated. Despite his tenure on beloved shows, this made alarm bells go off in the heads of many fans who worried his unfamiliarity would bleed into the adaptation. But well just have to wait, hope for the best, and see.
Know of any other big God of War controversies? Which ones do you think were overblown? Share your thoughts in the comments!
