14 February 2026

God of War Sons of Sparta Bringing Back One Character Feels Like a Big Deal

By newsgame

In February 2026’s State of Play, after Sony highlighted a number of major games releasing for PS5 in the coming months, God of War: Sons of Sparta was revealed and subsequently shadow-dropped. The side-scrolling action game, whose development was kept under wraps until its launch, serves as a prequel to the first God of War, following Kratos and his brother Deimos as they undergo the brutal Spartan training regime known as the agoge.

In the Ancient Greek city-state of Sparta, the Spartiate class represented the ultimate status, respect, and social capital. In fact, the only way for an adult to participate in Spartan democracy and attain full citizenship was to join the Spartiates. All other members of Spartan society were either Periokoi, whose citizenship was limited to a single city, or Helots, a subjugated working class that was violently oppressed by the warrior-elite in the Spartiate. But becoming one of these true Spartans was more than just a matter of being born into the right family or making political connections: Spartans-to-be were enrolled in the agoge at age 7, where they would remain until adulthood. Cut off from their families and barred from marriage, the boys of the agoge would be forced through all manner of difficult trials focused on survival, athleticism, and military strategy. This process was grueling and violent, even by the standards of the time, and was known to result in the deaths of the young boys involved. Needless to say, Kratos and Deimos are in for the experience of a lifetime in God of War: Sons of Sparta.

Deimos and Kratos Reuniting in God of War: Sons of Sparta Is Lore-Significant

Who Is Deimos, and Where Have We Seen Him Before?

Deimos is a few years younger than Kratos, born with an unusual red birthmark that snaked around his body. This was more than a mere curiosity of genetics and biology: he was deemed to be The Marked One, a character long prophesied to bring about the destruction of the Olympians. As a result, Ares and Athena launched an assault on Kratos and Deimos’ village, capturing Deimos as a young Kratos tried and failed to stop them. Heartbroken and enraged by his brother’s capture, Kratos swore his first oath of vengeance against Olympus, and tattooed Deimos’ marks on himself in honor of his brother.

Years later, Kratos would discover Deimos in the Domain of Death, ruled by Thanatos, Death incarnate. Deimos had grown up there, regularly tortured by Thanatos for his presumed designs to destroy Olympus’ ruling class. Though Deimos was initially enraged at his brother, who he felt had abandoned him, the two eventually joined forces against Thanatos, ultimately defeating him. However, Deimos was killed in the process, strengthening Kratos’ resolve to seek vengeance upon Olympus.

Like Kratos, Deimos is actually a figure in real-world Greek mythology, though his depiction in the God of War games has little in common with his minor role in Classical works.

Seeing Deimos in God of War: Sons of Sparta Is Bittersweet

Despite maturing into an aggressive and hateful man as a result of prolonged torture and trauma, Deimos was once much more kindhearted than his older brother Kratos. This is the version of Deimos that we get to see in Sons of Sparta, and it’s a much more endearing one. Indeed, it’s clear that Deimos has a lot of love for Kratos, and vice-versa, which is what makes the events following Sons of Sparta that much more saddening.

But at the same time, it’s both refreshing and satisfying to see Kratos with a member of his first family, before the death and destruction that came to dominate his life. Seeing these siblings pitted against considerable threats in the Spartan agoge also has some great narrative value, as it gives us a better picture of what sort of childhood breeds men like Kratos and Deimos. But more than anything, there’s a non-zero chance that the inclusion of Deimos in this spin-off prequel is actually setting the stage for something greater.

Deimos Might Come Back into Play in Future God of War Games

God of War may have had a massive change in setting and style in 2018, but that doesn’t mean that Kratos’ life in Greece has been forgotten about. On the contrary, the man’s bloody, tragic backstory informs almost every facet of his Norse adventures, from his hesitance to engage in further godly warfare and his disgust with Norse gods like Odin, to his anxieties about Atreus’ future. In many cases, Kratos faces his difficult past head-on, whether that’s through his visions of Athena or the manifestation of Ancient Greece in the Valhalla DLC.

But Deimos has only gotten glancing references in the modern God of War games, like when Kratos mentions him in Ragnarok while trying to broker peace between Freya and her own brother. But Deimos is arguably an even more important figure in Kratos’ life than someone like Athena, so it would make sense for him to play a bigger role moving forward. Now that modern audiences—and even old-school God of War fans—are getting to know him better in Sons of Sparta, he’s primed for some sort of return in a future God of War game. Whether this return is a literal one (death is not always the end in God of War‘s world), or a more mystical or psychological one, we will have to see, but it would certainly be worthwhile either way.