God of War Sons of Sparta will expand beyond its PS5 release when the 2D prequel arrives on PS4 on Nov. 16, Sony confirmed through an update to the game’s official guide. The PS4 launch will be accompanied by a patch that adds two replay-focused modes to both PlayStation platforms.
Sons of Sparta has been a PS5 exclusive since Feb. 12, 2026. The game is a side-scrolling Metroidvania-style prequel centered on a young Kratos and his brother, Deimos, as they train at the Agoge. Santa Monica Studio, the team behind God of War (2018), God of War Ragnarök and the Valhalla DLC, developed the story as part of the series’ official canon.
Two modes extend the campaign
The new modes are available at no additional cost on PS4 and PS5. Hermes Mode is designed for speedrunning. Players can unlock it by completing the campaign once or by entering a sequence on the start menu: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, L1, R1, Touchpad. Either method is sufficient.
Erebus Mode provides a more demanding way to replay the campaign. Players select it when beginning a new save, and that choice remains fixed after the save has been created. The update also adds a speedrun board and a one-hit mode, giving players additional ways to revisit the same story and track their runs.
- PS4 release date: Nov. 16, 2026
- New modes: Hermes Mode and Erebus Mode
- Platforms receiving the modes: PS4 and PS5
A prequel built around an earlier era
TC Carson returns as the narrator and plays adult Kratos for the first time in more than 10 years. Carson previously voiced the character in earlier God of War games, while the newer Norse-era titles were led by Christopher Judge. The source material identifies Sons of Sparta as a project from Santa Monica Studio, with Mega Cat Studios saying it originally pitched the concept as a “God of War zero” that imagined how the series might have appeared on the original PlayStation.
“God of War zero”
The title also performed strongly enough to appear on Circana’s U.S. sales chart for February, ahead of Sony’s own Ghost of Yotei at No. 15 and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 at No. 18. Mario Tennis Fever was the other new platform-exclusive game in that month’s top 20, according to the figures included with the announcement.
The move to PS4 gives owners of Sony’s older console access to the prequel while preserving the new modes for PS5 players. It also distinguishes Sons of Sparta from God of War Laufey, the next major entry identified in the announcement as a PS5-only release. That game’s release date has moved to May 20, 2027.
