God of War is an action-adventure video game series loosely based on Greek mythology. Debuting in 2005, the series has become a flagship title for thePlayStation brand, consisting of seven games across multiple platforms. The series' story centers around its only playable character, Kratos, a Spartanwarrior tricked into killing his wife and child by his former master, the God of War Ares. Kratos eventually kills Ares at the behest of the goddess Athena and takes his place as the new God of War, but is still haunted by the nightmares of his past. Kratos is eventually betrayed by Zeus, the King of the Olympian Gods. Revealed to be a demigod and the son of Zeus, Kratos now seeks revenge against the gods for their machinations. What follows is a series of attempts to free himself from the influence of the gods and the Titans and exact revenge. Each game chapter forms part of a saga with vengeance as a central motif.

The main trilogy—God of War (2005), God of War II (2007), and God of War III (2010)—was developed by Sony's Santa Monica Studio and published bySony Computer Entertainment (SCE) for the PlayStation 2 (PS2) andPlayStation 3 (PS3) video game consoles. Ready at Dawn developed thePlayStation Portable (PSP) installments—Chains of Olympus (2008) and Ghost of Sparta (2010)—which were also published by SCE. The mobile phone Java ME installment—Betrayal (2007)—was developed by Javaground and Sony Online Entertainment's Los Angeles division, and published by Sony Pictures Digital. In addition to the individual games, two collections featuring remastered versions of both PS2 installments—God of War Collection (2009)—and both PSP installments—Origins Collection (2011)—were released on the PS3 byBluepoint Games and Ready at Dawn, respectively. Another collection—God of War Saga (2012)—was released for the PS3 and features God of War Collection, Origins Collection, and God of War III. Santa Monica and SCE released the main trilogy's prequel—Ascension—for the PS3 in 2013, which introduced multiplayer to the series. Sanzaru Games ported God of War Collection to the PlayStation Vita in 2014. In celebration of the franchise's tenth anniversary, God of War III Remastered released on PlayStation 4 (PS4) in 2015 and was ported by Wholesale Algorithms.

Games in the series have been praised as being the best action games for the PlayStation brand, and some of the best action games of all time. In June 2012, Sony reported that the series up to that point had sold more than 21 million copies worldwide. Strong sales and support of the series led to the franchise's expansion into other media, such as a comic book series—God of War (2010–11)—two novels—God of War (2010) and God of War II (2013)—and a web-based graphic novel—Rise of the Warrior (2012–13). A film adaptation of the original installment has been in development since 2005. Merchandise promoting the series has also been produced, including artwork, clothing, toys, and prop replicas. Additionally, Santa Monica partnered with iam8bit and artists Jim Rugg, Doaly, and Nimit Malavia to create their own inspired movie posters based on God of War I, II, and III for the franchise's tenth anniversary.^[1]