ALEX BROWN
Young Kratos is heading back a generation. God of War Sons of Sparta, the 2D action platformer that Sony shadow-dropped on PS5 in February, is coming to PlayStation 4 on Monday, November 16, 2026, at midnight local time. Santa Monica Studio announced the port on November 13 in an update to its PlayStation Blog post, and developer Mega Cat Studios is releasing a free content update the same day on both PS4 and PS5.
What’s in the Sons of Sparta update?
The patch adds two new ways to play, both chosen when you start a new game and pick a save slot. Once you choose a mode for a save, you can’t change it.
- Hermes Mode: a speedrun mode with a split-based timer, a persistent scoreboard and other tracking tools. It unlocks after you finish the game once, or by entering a cheat code in the start menu that older players will recognize: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, L1, R1, Touchpad.
- Erebus Mode: the studio’s “ultimate challenge,” where Kratos and every enemy die in a single hit. It unlocks after you beat the game.
What is God of War Sons of Sparta?
Sons of Sparta is a canon story set during Kratos’s youth, while he and his brother Deimos train at the Agoge, Sparta’s brutal military school. The adventure takes them out into the surrounding region of Laconia. It’s a 2D action platformer with pixel art, built by Mega Cat Studios in partnership with Santa Monica Studio, and written by the team behind God of War (2018) and Ragnarök.
T.C. Carson, the original voice of Kratos, returns to narrate the story as the adult Kratos, and Bear McCreary composed the score. It launched on PS5 on February 12, 2026, at $29.99 for the Standard Edition and $39.99 for the Digital Deluxe Edition.
Was a PS4 version expected?
Sort of. GameRant reported on November 7 that a dataminer had found a PS4 content ID for the game, and the PlayStation Store page had quietly started mentioning the older console. The new modes, though, weren’t leaked. Sony hasn’t said whether PS4 pricing matches PS5 or whether there’s cross-save between the two versions.
Why bring it to PS4 now?
Timing is part of the answer. With GTA 6 arriving November 19 on current-gen consoles only, PS4 owners are about to be left out of the year’s biggest launch. A cheaper, smaller God of War game with fresh modes is a nice gift for the tens of millions of people still playing on the older machine. Its pixel-art presentation also makes it far easier to port than the big 3D entries.
What’s next for God of War?
Santa Monica Studio has a lot on its plate. Reports note that a remake of the original God of War trilogy is in early development, along with new projects including one focused on Faye, Kratos’s late wife. None of those have release dates yet.
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Sources: Noisy Pixel, FullCleared, Final Weapon, tbreak, PlayStation Blog.