God Of War: Ragnarok's aftermath has left a lot of directions open for the franchise's future. While the game's story can serve as the perfect capstone for Kratos' emotional journey, it also leaves several threads with significant room for expansion.
The most notable of these would be to see where Atreus' journeys take him in the next God of War installment. Since he and his father part ways at the end of the game, there is potential in exploring where his new adventures take him, but should Santa Monica Studio decide to revisit his character, there is one important thing they need to repeat for his character development across games.
Atreus Likely Needs to be Aged Up Again Significantly
Whether a God of War: Ragnarok successor puts Atreus in a protagonist's role or a supporting role again, it will likely be necessary to show him as a fully grown adult, just as that game aged him up several years. A potential prologue showing him in his youth soon after that title's conclusion could work, but the bulk of his role should be when he's a fully matured adult.
The most obvious reason for this is that if Sunny Suljic reprises his role as Atreus, it would almost be guaranteed he'd be playing an adult version of his character. He also expressed this sentiment as he mentioned in an interview being in favor of playing Atreus again in the next God of War. It also makes sense from a logistic standpoint since having Suljic play Atreus as a teenager again would make little sense. The actor is roughly around the same age Atreus is and it might sound out of place if he played the character as a teen again.
Beyond looking at factors outside the game, a lot of narrative potential would be lost if the next time players see Atreus is as a teenager again. Jumping forward several years can showcase how he's evolved over that time. The most substantial change besides physically looking older would come down to his personality, as he would have had more time to mature even beyond the person he became by the end of Ragnarok, whether he leaned further into his abilities as a god of mischief or not.
Since Atreus and Angrboda end the game by venturing to find where any surviving Giants are, it would be natural for a quest this ambitious to take years to find a breakthrough as they journey toward areas governed by other mythologies. Assuming that is still their objective in the next game, the plot can revolve around this idea as the pair can finally be reunited with more of their people.
Depending on if he kept some form of contact with other characters who survived Ragnarok's events, there is room to explore where various characters ended up, even if through a simple note. It would also be the perfect bridge to tease a God of War spinoff that doesn't follow Kratos or Atreus.
Another way a time skip would be perfect is that it could show off how much Atreus has evolved as a warrior. He's already a skilled bowman in Ragnarok and has gained control over his transformation abilities, so he would have no doubt evolved in these areas. Should he have a title centered around him, an Atreus with more experience under his belt would be far more interesting to play as instead of one who largely has his moves from the previous game.
A God of War game with an adult Atreus as the lead can potentially be the evolution needed for the series after players have spent so many years with Kratos. Given the new type of god players would be controlling, the name might be changed to reflect Atreus' abilities, but that would only further signal his game as one stepping out of his father's shadow.
God of War: Ragnarok is available now for PS4 and PS5.
