'God Of War' 4 Release Date, News & Update: Leaks O Point To Thor In 4th GOW By SCE

"God Of War 4" by Sony is expected to be released alongside PS4.5 and has been reported to show a Kratos look-alike. The "God Of War 4" lead may or may not be Kratos and points to the involvement of Thor given the mythical Norse environment and get-up.

The "God Of War" franchise has been immensely successful for Sony, with sales capping 21 million copies worldwide up to 2012. The first "God Of War" game was released on PS2 in 2005 and received critical acclaim. "God Of War" was set against the backdrop of Greek mythology (at the time a relatively unique setting in gaming). The game followed the story of Kratos, a Spartan warrior tricked into killing his family by Aries the God of War. In With the help of Athena, Kratos exacts violent and bloody revenge on Aries and the gods of Olympus.

The last original entry was "God Of War" Ascension, which was a prequel released in 2013 for PS3. Last year Sony released a full HD remastered version of "God Of War" 3 - the final episode in Kratos' saga - for PS4 from the original of the PS3.

Sales were lackluster, though, and people are wondering if the change, as reported by Cheat Sheet, in "God Of War 4" from Greek to Norse mythology will be enough to rejuvenate the franchise. According to IGN, insider Shinobi602 provided images sourced from the website of one of the Sony Santa Monica artists, which suggests "God Of War 4" may still have Kratos in the lead but inside a Viking arc.

Expectations are mixed for "God Of War 4" given that the game saw its natural story conclusion with the third instalment in the original arc. "God Of War 4" may succeed, however, as 343 Industries showed when taking over Microsoft's "Halo" franchise. Bungie had left the original "Halo" saga at a natural ending point. 343 therefrom kicked off a new "Halo" saga expanding on the original universe.

LAST ONE! RT & FOLLOW to win God of War III #PS4 AND this limited concept art signed to YOU #smscontestentry pic.twitter.com/epIkvhjqIo

— Santa Monica Studio (@SonySantaMonica) April 11, 2016

IGN reports that Sony has been developing the new, rebooted "God of War 4" since 2014. According to Playstation Lifestyle the release date of PS4.5, which is reportedly twice as powerful as the PS4 - GPU-wise, will be the marker for Sony's release of "God of War 4."