God of War (franchise)
video game franchise
God of War is an action-adventure game franchise created by David Jaffe and developed by Sony's Santa Monica Studio. It began in 2005 on the PlayStation 2 (PS2) video game console and has become a flagship series for PlayStation, consisting of 10 installments across multiple platforms, with two further games in development. Santa Monica Studio has developed the six main entries with two additional games in the works, while Ready at Dawn, Javaground/Sony Online Entertainment-Los Angeles (SOE-LA), and Mega Cat Studios developed the four side games. Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) has published all games except the mobile phone installment, which was published by Sony Pictures Digital.
Based on ancient mythologies, the series' main plot follows Kratos, a Spartan warrior who becomes the God of War and comes into conflict with various mythological pantheons. The earlier games in the series are based on Greek mythology, referred to as the Greek era, and see Kratos follow a path of vengeance against the Olympian gods. The later games are based on Norse mythology, referred to as the Norse era, and see Kratos on a path of redemption while also introducing his son Atreus as a secondary protagonist, as they come into conflict or interact with various Norse deities and figures. Laufey, Kratos's second wife and Atreus's mother, will be introduced as a main protagonist in the next installment that is in development, which will introduce other mythologies to the series, such as Egyptian and Mongolian mythologies.
The first seven games plus the 2026 title make up the Greek era of the franchise. God of War (2005), God of War II (2007), and God of War III (2010) comprise its main trilogy; the first two were released on the PS2 with the third on the PlayStation 3 (PS3).
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “God of War (franchise)” is video game franchise. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through franchise, video and game, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “video game franchise” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q390137. None of the 2 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2005, 2026, 2007 and 2010.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “God of War (franchise)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow God of War (franchise) primary sources, God of War (franchise) archive and franchise research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “God of War (franchise)”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “God of War (franchise)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.