There hasn't been any official word on whether or not saved Sony's God of War franchise from irrelevancy with his more compelling characterization in the 2018 game, but the series should move on at some point.
Including the PlayStation Portable spin-offs, Kratos will have been the main character of eight God of War games by the time Ragnarök releases. The franchise also includes some comic books, novels, and an live action series from Amazon, almost all of which feature Kratos as the main character. He has grown into a much more dynamic character than the singularly angry man with insatiable bloodlust he was in the original game, but his continued involvement is beginning to show the series' limitations, especially now that he's making a second attempt at fatherhood.
Video games as a medium seem especially prone to iterating on what works, and its hard to envision God of War without Kratos. The myth of Halo's Master Chief hasn't even included as many games as God of War has with Kratos, and spin-off titles without John-117 began in 2009 with Halo Wars and Halo 3: ODST. Other long-running single-player series like Assassin's Creed try to keep at least the narrative fresh with new protagonists. Everything about God of War is so intertwined with Kratos as the main character that it might be difficult to extricate him.
Atreus Is The Obvious Successor To Kratos In God Of War
From the other characters who have been featured throughout the God of War series, Kratos' son Atreus is the one most evident to take up the protagonist mantle. Kratos has grown into a tired, aging man, and is trying to instill in his son a better way of life than one that involves killing gods. Kratos' many murders in God of War is the entire basis of the series, and Atreus being his successor would mean Kratos ultimately fails in his goal. Ragnarök may very well end up with a tragic ending in which Atreus cannot escape the fate seemingly laid out by his heritage, but that won't be known until the game finally releases.
Kratos' short stint in Midgard has seen him inadvertently taking another violent path, and a shift to another mythology only to have the same circumstances happen again might feel derivative. Whether it's through Kratos' death, or finally giving him a happy ending, Santa Monica Studio should move on and let other characters take center stage in future God of War games. It would seem that the God of War studio has an unannounced project in the works, and with Ragnarök ending the Norse saga, it may be the first time Santa Monica develops something other than a God of War game since 2001. The future of God of War depends largely on how Ragnarök wraps up, but it is increasingly starting to feel like the way forward is without Kratos in the leading role.
