Santa Monica Studio has been cagey about God of War Ragnarök‘s release date. And with all the game delays, many assumed it had been pushed into 2023. However, Sony has assuaged those fears, confirming that God of War Ragnarök would be coming out on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on November 9, 2022. Pre-orders open on July 15, 2022 at 10 am local time.
The company revealed this date through a cinematic trailer. It’s short and has no gameplay, so don’t expect a long deep dive, but it does set the tone and hint at a huge wolf-like boss battle.
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The second half of this announcement came with a full unboxing of the game’s two physical special editions: the Collector’s Edition and Jötnar Edition, both of which were leaked earlier through insider Tom Henderson. Ryan Hurst, who provided the motion capture and voice for Thor, and Santa Monica Studio Art Director Rafael Grassetti walked viewers through the unboxing video, each taking one of the boxes and explaining their innards. However, there is also a standard edition and digital deluxe edition. Sony did not list prices for any of these versions, so it’s possible that those won’t be known until July 15 when pre-orders go live.
The standard edition is pretty, well, standard. However, it is worth pointing out because of the pre-order bonuses it comes with that are also included when pre-ordering the other versions. Pre-ordering unlocks the Risen Snow armor for Kratos and the Snow Tunic skin for Atreus.
The digital deluxe is only available digitally. Users with the base edition can spend $10 to upgrade and those that pre-order will also grab the two aforementioned skins. This version comes with:
- Full God of War Ragnarök game on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles.
- Kratos Darkdale Armor
- Atreus Darkdale Attire (cosmetic)
- Darkdale Blades Handles for the Blades of Chaos
- Darkdale Axe Grip for the Leviathan Axe
- Official God of War Ragnarök digital soundtrack
- Dark Horse digital mini artbook
- Avatar set
- PlayStation 4 theme
The Collector’s Edition is the smaller of the two physical versions. It comes with everything from the digital deluxe edition, as well as:
- Printed voucher code for the full God of War Ragnarök game on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles.
- Knowledge Keeper’s Shrine box
- A steelbook display case (no game disc included) – The God of War Ragnarök steelbook display case depicts renditions of the Bear and the Wolf.
- Two-inch Vanir Twins carvings – In the same style as Atreus’ wooden toy carvings of the Huldra Brothers from the God of War (2018) Collector’s Edition, the God of War Ragnarök Collector’s Edition completes the set with carvings of the Vanir Twins.
- Dwarven dice set – This set comes with a set of dice with a quality wood-like finish in a dice bag with a symbol of Yggdrasil on the outside.
- 16-inch Mjölnir replica – A highly detailed replica of Thor’s signature weapon from God of War Ragnarök.
The Jötnar Edition is the biggest one and comes with everything from the prior editions and the following:
- Printed voucher code for the full God of War Ragnarök game on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles.
- Seven-inch vinyl record with music by Bear McCreary – This includes two tracks from composer Bear McCreary.
- The Falcon, Bear, and Wolf Pin Set – Representing Faye, Kratos, and Atreus respectively, this pin set symbolizes our heroes’ family.
- The Legendary Draupnir Ring – A ring from Norse Mythology, the Legendary Draupnir Ring comes in a red cloth bag.
- Brok’s Dice Set – This dice set comes with a metallic silver finish with blue detailing. The dice bag features the Huldra Brothers’ brand.
- Yggdrasil Cloth Map – This cloth map shows each of the Nine Realms within the branches and roots of Yggdrasil.
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It was quite clear that something concerning Ragnarök‘s release date was coming soon. Bloomberg reported that Sony had settled on a November date and would announce the exact day in late June. Twitter account PlayStation Game Size found that Sony had internally shifted the game’s date from September to December, signaling a fall release window. The game was also recently rated on a Korean ratings board. Insider The Snitch tweeted a hint about God of War, implying an impending release date announcement. Santa Monica Studio’s Cory Barlog even began tweeting vague teases in the lead up to this announcement in addition to adorning his profile in multiple cryptic ellipses and periods. The Last of Us Part I‘s September release date also left an opening for Sony to release another big first-party game later in the fall.
However, it seems as though the announcement did not go as originally planned. A tweet from Barlog and a less cryptic Twitter account implied that it was delayed. He then outright stated that a reveal event wasn’t coming on June 30. According to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, it seemed as though the game itself still hadn’t been pushed, which some were speculating after reading too much into this delayed announcement. That hasn’t stopped from people from harassing people on the development team, though. The studio even sent a tweet condemning the toxic behavior.
