With God of War finally being ported to PC, fans are once again discussing how tall protagonist Kratos is in the game. Kratos’ height has varied between games in the series, with early scripts citing his height as 6 feet 6 inches tall, whereas God of War developers from Sony Santa Monica have stated that Kratos is 7 feet 6 inches in the comic books but considerably shorter in the God of War games. Many estimates put Kratos height near to 8 feet tall, however, this is refuted by the heights provided by the game’s developers.
The God of War game franchise, created by David Jaffe at Sony's Santa Monica Studio, began in 2005 and has been a mainstay in the PlayStation brand, with eight games created so far. 2018’s God of War was a PlayStation exclusive but was finally made available on PC through Steam in early 2022. With the ninth game in the series, God of War Ragnarok, also releasing in 2022, it’s evident that the God of War franchise continues to thrive. Kratos is the main protagonist throughout the God of War games and is widely considered the face of the God of War franchise.
There has been much speculation around Kratos’ height, however, it’s clear that his height has varied throughout the God of War series. During a three-part series on the making of God of War, the game’s Lead Narrative Animator Erica Pinto and Lead Character Technical Artist Axel Grossman talked about character rigging and cinematic animation in God of War. In a video on YouTube channel Gnomon, Grossman showed Kratos’ height in the older games in the series was 9 heads tall, the equivalent of 7’ 6”. God of War's games based on Greek mythology follow Kratos, a Spartan warrior out for vengeance after being tricked into killing his family. It’s later revealed Kratos is a demigod, and the son of Zeus, which may explain his exceptional height.
Kratos' Height Changed In 2018's God Of War
In the Norse era of God of War, set in ancient Scandinavia, Kratos is 8 heads tall or 6’ 4”. From 2018’s God of War onwards, Kratos has more realistic proportions, away from the comic-book style of the game’s Greek era. Christopher Judge, who voices Kratos in this era, is 6’ 3”, and Grossman notes that the games’ creators wanted an actor close in height to Kratos. For the first time in the series, a second protagonist in addition to Kratos was introduced in God of War: Atreus, his son. The game follows the pair as they travel to scatter Altreus’s mother’s ashes at the highest peak of the nine realms. Along their journey, they encounter monsters and gods of Norse mythology.
While there is still debate online that Kratos is 8 feet tall or taller, the character models used by the developers disprove that he was never that tall in the games. In God of War’s Greek era, Kratos is 7’ 6”, whereas, in God of War’s Norse era, he is 6’ 4”. While the franchise is still in its Norse era, with God of War Ragnarok releasing later this year, more eras based on different mythology aren’t out of the question. Santa Monica Studio's Creative Director, Cory Barlog, said future God of War games could explore Egyptian or Mayan mythology. As Kratos’ height and build changed between the Greek and Norse eras of God of War, it’s reasonable to expect that Kratos’ height could change again if the game embarks on another new era.
Source: Gnomon/YouTube