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God of War TV show officially ordered to series by Amazon

By Tomas Franzese December 14, 2022

Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television will move forward with developing a live-action television series based on the God of War series of games.

Variety reports that Amazon has ordered this previously-rumored show to series and that it will focus on adapting the narrative of the 2018 game, where Kratos explores the Norse realms with his son Atreus while on a quest to spread his wife’s ashes from the highest peak in Jotunheim. This God of War show will also add to a strong lineup of notable fantasy IP on Amazon Prime, as the service also features shows based on The Lord of the Rings and The Wheel of Time. In fact, The Wheel of Time executive producer Rafe Judkins will act as the God of War series’ showrunner.

Joining Judkins will be writers Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, who are known for their work on Children of Men, 2008’s Iron Man, Cowboys & Aliens, and The Expanse. God of War director Cory Barlog will be an executive producer alongside Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, Yumi Yang, Jeff Ketcham, and Roy Lee.

Recently, PlayStation has been making a significant push into the film and television scene with movies like Uncharted and shows like The Last of Us, which airs on HBO in January. Projects based on Twisted Metal, Ghost of Tsushima, and Jak & Daxter are also in the works. It makes sense to expand God of War to the medium of television, especially after November’s God of War Ragnarok became Sony’s fastest-selling first-party game of all time.

It will be interesting to see if any elements from that sequel, and the original trilogy on PS2 and PS4, also make their way into the first season of this show. The God of War live-action series does not currently have an announced release date or cast.

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Tomas Franzese is a Staff Writer at Digital Trends, where he reports on and reviews the latest releases and exciting…

Gaming

Bringing VR’s best Star Wars game to PlayStation VR2 was a no-brainer, devs say

star wars tales from the galaxys edge psvr2 interview ilmxlab starwarstalesee screenshot c 3po and r2 d2

When ILMxLAB learned about the PlayStation VR2, Director Jose Perez III thought it was a "no-brainer" for the studio to bring the Oculus Quest game Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge to the new headset.
"We're always looking at how we can push the fidelity of the work that we're doing," Perez III tells Digital Trends in an interview. "PlayStation VR2 is ridiculously powerful; we got really excited about what we could bring to that. We started talking with our friends at Sony because we had a great relationship with them for Vader Immortal, and it was really a no-brainer. Then, you put the headset on, you start feeling the haptics, and you start seeing what you can do with the visual fidelity and lighting, and it's like, 'Oh, this is awesome!'"
Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge - Enhanced Edition | Official Trailer | PS VR2
PlayStation VR2's launch and its first wave of games are nearly upon us, and Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge Enhanced Edition is one of those titles. This is a make-or-break time for VR, which is still struggling to move into the mainstream but could become more popular if Sony's headset can offer a compelling and accessible virtual reality experience. Ahead of its release, Digital Trends spoke to Director Jose Perez III and Producer Harvey Whitney from ILMxLAB to learn about the process of crafting one of these critical "no-brainer" launch games and PlayStation VR2 will ultimately stand when it comes to the future of VR gaming.
The power of PlayStation VR2
Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge was originally released for Meta Quest VR headsets in November 2020. It's set on the planet of Batuu, which people also explore at Dinsey parks, and follows a Droid Technician who gets caught in the middle of a grander fight against the First Order after crash-landing on the planet. At the time, it was meant with decent reviews and only got better as its story was completed and expanded with the Last Call DLC.
After getting the "Enhanced Edition" of the game for PlayStation VR2 greenlit, ILMxLAB actually had to go and make it. As the team was dealing with new hardware for the first time, producer Harvey Whitney thought it was good that the team's first project on PlayStation VR2 was an enhanced version of an existing game.
"Early on, knowing that we already had the content that was created for the original, that changes things quite a bit," Whitney tells Digital Trends. "We're not redeveloping the story and coming up with all of that. We just had that opportunity to work as a team and ask, 'What do we really push here, and where are the changes that we want to make, and what we can do to really take advantage of this hardware?'"

The VR space is full of different headsets with unique specs, with the much higher specs of the PS VR2 standing out. The PlayStation VR2 sports some impressive specs compared to its VR peers, displaying content in a 4000x2030 HDR format at a 90Hz or 120Hz frame rate. Plus, games have the PS5's power, spatial, and brand new Sense controllers to take advantage of, rather than the 2013 console and 2010 motion controls that limited the original PlayStation VR.
PlayStation VR2 supports Roomscale, Sitting, and Standing play styles, which added more complexity as Tales from the Galaxy's Edge supports all three. Thankfully, Perez III that bringing Tales from the Galaxy's Edge to PlayStation VR2 was relatively manageable because of how impressive the system's specs were.
"A lot of the development processes are similar [to other VR platforms]," Perez III says. "We're still working inside of Unreal, and we're doing a lot of those same processes. But we don't have to look at performance quite as much as we do on some of the other devices, so we're able to open up a lot of things or not be as concerned about certain things. That comes with better hardware."
Better hardware, better games
Looking at the biggest games of the PlayStation VR2 launch window lineup, the visuals of titles like Horizon Call of the Mountain and the VR modes of Resident Evil Village and Gran Turismo 7 are impressive. In our discussion, Whitney also made it quite clear that one of the real advantages of working on this remaster was not having to worry about strict limitations on the visuals or even the audio. "We got lucky in the sense that there's a lot more to PlayStation VR2 that we hadn't had previously," Whitney says. "We could really push the graphics and make it shine. But then there were also some other things that came into play. We totally redid the audio, it sounds amazing."

Gaming

The best video games of November 2022: God of War Ragnarok, Pentiment, and more

Kratos sternly looks at Atreus in God of War: Ragnarok.

November 2022 was filled to the brim with some of the year’s biggest releases, which is typical of this time of year. Although not all of them lived up to expectations, others like God of War Ragnarok garnered critical acclaim and are must-plays for anyone gaming in 2022. Still, there are plenty of other games that released in November 2022 that also deserve admiration.
December 2022 will be packed with exciting games too, so you’ll want to check out these six titles before that rush begins. From well-known games like God of War Ragnarok to smaller indies like A Little to the Left, these are the November 2022 video game releases that you shouldn’t miss.
God of War Ragnarok

Sony Santa Monica followed up 2018’s critically acclaimed God of War with a sequel that is bigger in almost every way. While that doesn’t always work out perfectly for God of War Ragnarok, it’s still a massive and emotionally touching action game. It features many great accessibility options for players that need those too.
“God of War Ragnarok is much bigger than its predecessor, though not inherently better,” Gaming Editor Giovanni Colantonio wrote in his four-star review of the game. “It’s more reminiscent of the jump between the original God of War in 2005 and God of War 2, offering a largely similar experience down to its plot beats. That larger scope makes for a messier story that loses some of the previous game’s intimacy, but the trade-off is even sharper combat that further establishes the franchise as the God of action games.”
As God of War Ragnarok had the bestselling launch of any first-party PlayStation game ever, there's a good chance you're already playing it. If you haven’t checked it out, though, this sequel is a must for PlayStation owners. God of War Ragnarok is available now exclusively for PS4 and PS5.
Pentiment

Gaming

God of War Ragnarok: best Runic Abilities

Thor in God of War Ragnarok.

Runic attacks are back from God of War 2018, and they're more varied and potent than ever. These special moves are unique to each weapon in the game and offer various forms of attack that deal different amounts of damage, stun, and elemental afflictions. You can equip two per weapon -- one light and one heavy -- and each one can be upgraded using XP to make them even stronger. You'll need that extra edge in combat, especially when facing off against the tougher bosses in God of War Ragnarok.

You will naturally pick up a lot of Runic attacks as you make your way through the main story in God of War Ragnarok, and while they are easy to manage at first, you will eventually need to make some tough choices. Not only will you need to pick which ones are best, but also which are worth investing upgrades in. With Ragnarok fast approaching, don't waste any time with the weaker Runic attacks in God of War Ragnarok. Here are the best ones for each weapon.