Kratos, Remakes, and Rumors: Why Sony's Next Move isn’t What it Seems

You are living in an era where game leaks no longer come solely from blurry screenshots or datamined files. More often than not, they come straight from the people who make the games themselves. Actors and voice actors have become some of the most unexpected sources of early information, and this time, the spotlight has landed on Christopher Judge.

Over the years, you have seen this happen before. Norman Reedus casually confirmed more than he probably should have about Death Stranding 2. The Assassin’s Creed 4 remake situation surfaced in a similar way. Now, comments tied to Christopher Judge have people dissecting every word, trying to figure out what Sony and Santa Monica are working on next.

According to what has been circulating, the information attributed to Judge suggests several things at once. Kratos will reportedly be voiced by TC Carson in the God of War remakes, meaning Judge himself will not be reprising the role there. These remakes are said to feature new technology, a reworked combat system, and additional content. On top of that, Santa Monica Studio is expected to announce a brand-new title in late summer.

That last part is where speculation really takes off. When you hear that Judge says people will be hearing about what the studio is working on this summer, and you know he is the voice of Kratos in the modern games, it is easy to jump to the conclusion that a new mainline God of War entry is about to be revealed. That assumption has spread quickly, but expectations may also need to be tempered.

Just because Christopher Judge is involved in Santa Monica’s next project does not automatically mean it is God of War.

You have seen time and time again that studios reuse the same actors across multiple projects. The voice actress for the main character in Returnal also appears in other Sony titles. Troy Baker has played more major roles than most people can count. The idea that Judge could be involved in a completely new IP, playing a different character altogether, is not only possible but also extremely likely.

Because of that, it feels premature to treat this summer as the moment when the next mainline God of War is unveiled. If anything, the smarter approach is to assume that Kratos is taking a longer break than many fans would like.

The confirmation of remakes brings its own mix of excitement and frustration. On one hand, revisiting the original God of War games with modern technology is appealing. On the other hand, it raises questions about priorities.

You might have preferred to see God of War 1, 2, and 3, along with Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta, simply remastered and released on PlayStation 5. Those games still hold up, and many players would have gladly revisited them in a cleaner, more accessible form.

Instead, the originals remain awkwardly trapped on older hardware.

The God of War HD Collection and the PSP titles collection lived on PlayStation 3. God of War II received a remaster on PlayStation 4. Beyond that, the series' roots are scattered across PS2, PS3, and PSP, making them harder to experience today. Given how iconic the franchise is, that situation feels oddly neglected.

The details about these remakes suggest they are not simple visual touch-ups. New combat systems, new technology, and added content point toward something far more ambitious. That makes it unlikely that all three mainline entries would be bundled into a single release.

If your experience with the series starts at God of War 2018 and Ragnarok, you might not realize how compact the earlier games were. God of War 1, 2, and 3 could each be completed in roughly eight to ten hours. That was normal for action games at the time. Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta were even shorter, being designed for PSP.

The real intrigue comes from how Santa Monica might handle that extra content. Folding Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta into a remake trilogy would make sense narratively and would significantly extend playtime. Adding new story elements on top of that could push these remakes closer to the modern God of War format, especially if the gameplay structure resembles the 2018 and Ragnarok entries.

At a seventy-dollar price point, that approach is easier to justify.

It also aligns with how publishers tend to think about long-term value. There is a strong possibility that these remakes are intended for release separately rather than as a single package. Charging full price for each entry would not be surprising in today's market.

When you look at how other major franchises have handled remakes, a pattern emerges. Square Enix rebuilt Final Fantasy VII as a multi-part project. CD Projekt Red has laid out a plan to remake The Witcher trilogy with a shared foundation, allowing subsequent entries to be developed faster. The idea is to invest heavily upfront, then capitalize on that work over several releases.

Santa Monica could follow the same strategy. Building the groundwork now would allow God of War II and III remakes to arrive without five-year gaps between them. A three-year turnaround between entries feels far more realistic. Even then, timelines stretch further than many fans might expect.

The earliest realistic window for the first remake appears to be around 2030. If development is still in its early stages and the announcement is meant to generate excitement rather than signal an imminent launch, a four-year development cycle makes sense.

From there, part two might land around 2033, with part three following in 2036.

Meanwhile, Santa Monica’s next completely new title is rumored to arrive much sooner. This long-rumored sci-fi IP, reportedly overseen by Cory Barlog, has been in development for years. If current rumors hold, it could be positioned as a major PlayStation 5 release for 2027.

At the same time, Intergalactic is expected from Naughty Dog, though development issues and reported crunch have cast some doubt on its timing. With the PlayStation 6 reportedly delayed, Sony has flexibility. Pushing Intergalactic to 2028 would not be shocking, especially given the company’s habit of revisiting Naughty Dog games with remasters later on.

If Santa Monica's new IP and Intergalactic both come out around the same time, that will make for a great lineup. Even if people have mixed feelings about Intergalactic, it would still be a big release. This is interesting because Sony has been focusing on live-service games lately, and Santa Monica's next project will be two big first-party games in one year.

That context makes it even more important to manage expectations around God of War. Christopher Judge's statement that people will hear more soon does not guarantee that Kratos is returning to center stage. He could just as easily be part of Santa Monica’s new IP, lending his voice to an entirely different character.

The lingering concern is what all of this means for the future of the series. The remakes are exciting, but many players already know that story inside and out. What people are really waiting for is the next chapter in Kratos’s journey.

If the roadmap involves a new IP first, followed by a remake trilogy, and only then a new mainline God of War, the wait becomes exhausting. In a worst-case scenario, that could push the next true sequel well into the late 2030s. Even under more optimistic assumptions, a 2034 or 2035 release window is not hard to imagine.

Santa Monica is a large studio, and it is reasonable to believe they can manage multiple projects.

It would make sense for full production on the next mainline God of War to ramp up after the new IP ships. The groundwork for that future game may already exist, even if active development has not fully begun.

For now, everything remains theoretical. What is clear is that the remake trilogy for God of War appears to be early in development, the new IP is closer to release, and Christopher Judge’s comments have likely been misinterpreted. Until Santa Monica speaks officially, the safest assumption is that God of War’s future is being carefully spaced out rather than rushed.