Easily the most highly-anticipated release in a year stacked with huge games, by all accounts, God of War Ragnarök has delivered in every regard. The fans are all over it, critics are dazzled, and Sony is raking in the cash from game sales and accompanying PlayStation 5 sales. From storytelling to combat to the score, few would deny that the Sony Santa Monica sequel to the smash-hit reboot is a masterpiece of modern gaming.
What many forget each year, however, is that the annual sports games sell very well worldwide. They may not change much between each release, but they continue to reach millions of gamers across all platforms. This year was huge for the colossal EA Sports title FIFA 23. Not only is it a World Cup year, with the tournament commencing mere months after the game’s launch, but it’s also the last “FIFA” game.
With the headlines whipping up around God of War Ragnarök, the fifth mainline instalment to the series, we look to why it’s been such a resounding success, as well as if it rivals the mighty football simulation game that has been packed by EA with a monstrous soundtrack.
Ungodly praise for Kratos’ last Norse outing
The amount of praise that’s been heaped onto God of War: Ragnarök is nothing short of phenomenal. The 2018 soft reboot, God of War, received high praise, but with the power of the PS5 behind it, the sequel looks to have the edge over its critically-acclaimed predecessor. The game opens up massively this time around, with the story flowing to all nine realms, featuring more from headline Norse characters, and changing perspective more often.
Early reviews and the hype train aided the PlayStation exclusive to a huge launch. In boxed copies alone, its first week of sales outdid Elden Ring, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Some 12 per cent of its sales came as a part of the official console bundle Sony created for the game, and its sales eclipsed that of God of War by 51 per cent. It’s very impressive, seeing as the Xmas sales window is just around the corner, and the console-game bundle costs £540 right now. Some may be waiting for the sales to jump on.
Despite this, Ragnarök didn’t quite take the top spot for the biggest boxed launch of the year in the UK, with that nod going to FIFA 23. There is something to be said for FIFA 23 launching on all platforms – albeit in a criminally reduced state on the Nintendo Switch – and 82 per cent of God of War’s sales being in the form of PS5 copies, even when the console has been historically plagued with supply problems. Regardless of sales, though, Ragnarök is up for ten prizes at The Game Awards 2022 – more than any other – while FIFA 23 is in the mix for the Best Sports/Racing Award, which the series hasn’t won in the ceremony’s seven-year history.
A popular theme vs a gargantuan sport
God of War was released at a perfect time to catch the upward swing of Norse popularity as a theme in entertainment. The likes of American Gods, Norsemen, Vikings, the Thor movies in the MCU, and The Last Kingdom, which started on the BBC, were all riding high. In the years since Assassin’s Creed has explored the history of the Vikings, the Vikings TV show has spun off into Valhalla, and The Last Kingdom concluded marvellously to lead into the movie, Seven Kings Must Die.
At the same time, fantasy has been a big draw in entertainment media, particularly thanks to the highly-acclaimed return to Westeros in the form of House of the Dragon. Norse is also a consistent big-hitter in online entertainment, specifically at the online casino Betway. Thunderstruck Stormchaser, Thunderstruck II, and Masters of Valhalla are perpetually featured on the Top Games page. It shows the draw of the theme among entertainment seekers across the board, with it all fuelled by complementary releases.
Essentially, Ragnarök looks to have launched right at the peak of the wave of Norse fandom in entertainment, offering a new pinnacle for an in-depth, hands-on experience. Being exclusive to PlayStation, perhaps over half of the console and PC gamer community can’t get straight onto the game. Still, even with it available on all consoles like FIFA 23 is, Norse fandom doesn’t exactly compare to football: a sport enjoyed by over 3.5 billion people.
Financial results for EA showcased a ten per cent rise in sales on FIFA 22, and while it showed a slowing in growth, FIFA is still more popular this year than it was last. The epic numbers Day 23 saw for the game only support its success, featuring the likes of 15 billion minutes played, 200-plus nations playing, and 1.7 billion games played. Of course, football fever was rife this autumn, with the 2022 World Cup kicking off on 20 November in Qatar. Anyone with a fleeting football game interest will doubtless pile into FIFA 23 this winter.
In terms of popularity, God of War Ragnarök has certainly been a critical and commercial success as a pure single-player, spend once, get the whole game release. It’ll likely sweep up at The Game Awards and other industry events, but the one thing that the PlayStation exclusive can’t do is rival the popularity of football.
