Though it may have missed out on the Game Awards' official Game of the Year trophy, God of War Ragnarok is still many gamers' favorite title of last year, and its recent sales figures certainly back that up. During its launch week, God of War Ragnarok sold a whopping total of 5.1 million units, which is very impressive for a first-party exclusive only available on two consoles. The most recent figures paint an even more impressive picture, with God of War Ragnarok having now sold over 11 million units in just three months.
For comparison, God of War 2018 sold just over 5 million units in its first month, and 23 million units by the time of Ragnarok's release in November 2022. God of War Ragnarok is already the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios title ever released, and if it keeps going then it could even have a chance of surpassing the Marvel's Spider-Man series' record-breaking 33 million units. While this seems like excellent news for just about everyone, these high sales could end up being a bit of a double-edged sword for developer Santa Monica.
God of War Ragnarok's Excellent Sales Could be a bit of a Double-Edged Sword for Santa Monica
The God of War franchise has always been a heavy-hitter for PlayStation, with the first God of War just narrowly missing out on the top 10 best-sellers on the PlayStation 2, and God of War 3 managing to crack the number eight spot on the best-selling PS3 games of all time list. That being said, no entry has managed to sell nearly as fast as God of War Ragnarok, and that monumental milestone should certainly be celebrated by the hard-working devs at Santa Monica.
Somehow, despite the insurmountable pressure, Santa Monica managed to pull off God of War Ragnarok, one of the most anticipated sequels of all time, and a game that promised to end the Norse saga in a satisfying way. And by all accounts, Santa Monica certainly did that, delivering one of the best-written gaming narratives of all time, wrapped in gameplay that took the excellent foundations of its predecessor and improved on it in some key areas. God of War Ragnarok was a phenomenal sequel, and it's genuinely great to see it perform well in the sales charts and see Santa Monica reap the rewards of their hard efforts.
That being said, this impressive sales milestone could have an adverse effect on the developer. Right now, it's currently a little unclear where the God of War series could go next. While fans have speculated that an Atreus spin-off could be next, or perhaps a fully-fledged sequel where Kratos ventures to a new mythology could be on the cards, Santa Monica has been very tight-lipped on what its plans are for the future, only stating that it's not done with the God of War franchise just yet.
After these sales milestones, Santa Monica might face even more pressure to return to the God of War series than it ever has before, and that pressure might not forge a diamond. While God of War Ragnarok's development must have been incredibly pressuring, with fan expectations being absurdly high, Santa Monica at least probably wasn't being pressured too much by Sony, with that being reflected in the lengthy development time the team was allowed. However, with God of War Ragnarok selling so fast, Sony might be keen for Santa Monica to continue the series as fast as possible, and that could end up leading to a rough work environment for the development team. Hopefully this sales milestone is something that Santa Monica and Sony can simply be proud of, as fans are happy to wait for the next chapter in Kratos' story.
God of War Ragnarok is available now on PS4 and PS5.
