God of War Ragnarok is coming to the PC on September 19, Sony has announced at the PlayStation State of Play event. Jetpack Interactive are handling the port, and it has also been confirmed it will require a PSN account to play, much to the annoyance of PC gamers.
News in brief
- Latest God of War lands later this year
- It will need a PSN login to play
- Base game comes with all post-launch content, including Valhalla
- Digital Deluxe edition contains extra content
Continuing the story told in 2018's God of War, God of War Ragnarok follows Greek god (and god slayer) Kratos and his son, Atreus, as they come into conflict with various Norse deities, such as Thor and Odin. The game will be released with a number of improvements, just for the PC platform, such as an unlimited frame rate, and ultrawide monitor and 4K support.
The base game will include all the post-launch content, and the Valhalla DLC, which was released for free to all owners of the game on the Playstation. There will be a Digital Deluxe version of the game available, which will include a number of exclusive skins for Kratos and Atreus, the soundtrack, and a digital art book.
Unfortunately, it's also been confirmed a PSN account will be required for playing. This is sure to be a controversial move following Sony's attempt to foist it upon the Helldivers 2 community. Sony since rolled back this decision, but not before it betrayed the problems with requiring a PSN login — namely that PSN isn't available in a number of countries, effectively locking players there out of the game entirely.
Unlike Microsoft, which tends to push its Xbox exclusives out to PC on or soon after launch, Sony tends to hold its exclusives close to its chest for a while after launch, which is why God of War Ragnarok has been out for almost two years before coming to PC. It has been revealed this is part of a strategy to tempt PC gamers to buy a PS5 to play sequels only available on Sony's platform. How well this strategy has paid off is anyone's guess, but PC gamers are notoriously patient and dedicated to their platform — and we have to imagine stubborn, now this strategy has been made public.
God of War Ragnarok will be available on Steam and the Epic Games Store, and is currently available for pre-order. It will release on September 19.