The 20th anniversary of God of War is here, and Sony made sure to celebrate the milestone at its September 2025 State of Play by revealing something special for longtime fans: a new controller.
The PlayStation-maker revealed its Kratos-themed PS5 DualSense controller toward the end of its presentation today, showing off its ash-white color and blood-red mark. It’s not quite the new God of War game announcement many may have been hoping to see, but it does come with confirmation that it will launch in October for $84.99, with pre-orders opening October 3 at 10am local time.
The original God of War launched for the PlayStation 2 in 2005 and quickly catapulted Kratos into becoming a PlayStation icon. The 2018 soft reboot helped the god-killer reclaim his fame while introducing fans to a new Norse setting, with its sequel, God of War Ragnarok, then arriving in 2022.
The latter has received new content in the years since, with its Valhalla roguelike mode arriving as a free story update in late 2023. Outside of this, though, fans have been left waiting for any news from developer Santa Monica Studio, as the next chapter of Kratos’ journey remains a mystery.
“When we were deciding how best to embody the series, we immediately thought the form of the controller lent itself perfectly to Kratos’ omega tattoo,” Santa Monica Studio associate art director Dela Longfish explained in a PlayStation.Blog post. “No matter which God of War game you’re playing, the shape of his red ink against the gray of his ash-covered skin is one of the most iconic elements of Kratos’ look across both Greek and Norse sagas. Our team made sure to represent both of these key tones in the color selection for the controller to make every aspect an authentic homage to the design that has defined Kratos for over two decades.”
The God of War 20th anniversary Kratos controller is far from the first limited-edition accessory Sony has created. Past PS5 DualSense highlights include the PlayStation 30th anniversary controller, a The Last of Us controller, and a Death Stranding 2: On the Beach controller. Sony even loves Astro Bot so much that the mascot got not one but two limited edition controllers for collectors.
For more, you can check out everything announced at the September 2025 State of Play.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
