Original Director Forced ‘God of War Ragnarök’ to Kick Atreus Out Before Stepping Down: “The kid’s gotta leave”

Original Director Forced 'God of War Ragnarök' to Kick Atreus Out Before Stepping Down
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God of War: Ragnarok received a ton of positive praise overall, with special attention paid to its story and visuals. Players connected with the tale of Kratos, the titular god of war, and his son Atreus, traversing the nine realms to stop the fearsome Ragnarok from happening.

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God of War: Ragnarok
God of War: Ragnarok

The 2018 video game God of War, created by Santa Monica Studio and released by Sony Interactive Entertainment, had a sequel called God of War Ragnarök. The protagonist Kratos and his son Atreus (sometimes referred to as Loki) continued their journey across the Norse mythological world in this game.

Also Read: God of War: Ragnarok – Fifth God of War Game Confirmed for PS5

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Cory Barlog- The Original Director Wanted To Kick Atreus Out

Game director Cory Barlog talked about the game’s change in approach and what almost got cut out of the package along the way during an interview.

God of War: Ragnarok
God of War: Ragnarok

Early in the discussion, people were saying we had to get rid of Kratos,” Barlog told Stuart Whyte, director of VR Product Development at Sony London, in an hour-long post-mortem. “It was like, ‘he’s annoying, he’s done’.

In an interview, the new director of the game, Eric Williams stated that Barlog wanted three things to happen in Ragnarok.”The kids got to leave and Brock’s Gotta Die,” Eric Williams told.

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Atreus was nearly cut from the reboot. [Giving Kratos a son] was not a popular decision in the beginning.”

God of War: Ragnarok
God of War: Ragnarok

As animators and programmers fought for time and resources to understand Atreus’ purpose in the game, pressure to get rid of him surged in the middle of development “There was a point where we were going to cut Atreus completely. It was mostly due to the budget.” Barlog even wrote a pitch for a God of War game version without Atreus, “just as a backup.” But it was never formally submitted to management.

Also Read: “They could run into Sun Wukong”: Fans Demand God of War: Ragnarok Sequel Pit Kratos Against Chinese Gods

What’s God of War: Ragnarok About?

A sequel to God of War, God of War: Ragnarok picked up three years after the events of the first game. Midgard had become a barren wasteland, and Freya, whose son Baldur Atreus was killed in the first game, was still plotting her revenge.

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God of War: Ragnarok
God of War: Ragnarok

After Thor and Odin pay them a visit to Midgard, Kratos and Atreus were forced to leave. Atreus was graciously told to cease hunting for Tyr by Odin, who also offered to take him with him to Asgard. Kratos was not pleased, but when was Kratos ever pleased about anything?

Kratos and Atreus made their way to the home of their allies Sindri and Brok in the realm between realms. In the hope that the former god of war might give further details about Atreus’ identity as Loki, which was revealed in the last game, Kratos promised to help Atreus find Tyr.

God of War: Ragnarök was released in 2022 for both PS4 and PS5.

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Also Read: Years Long Mystery About Kratos Finally Explained Thanks to His Fight Against Thor in God of War: Ragnarok

Source: YouTube

Prantik Prabal Roy

Written by Prantik Prabal Roy

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Prantik Prabal Roy is a content writer at FandomWire. With over three years of experience in content writing for various media houses, he takes great interest in telling stories about Hollywood celebrities and the world revolving around them. He has done his Master's in English literature and diploma course in journalism. Being a literature student, he has the ability to delve into the matter and analyse it thoroughly to give the readers a clear view on the specific topics.