Original God of War’s Title Was Randomly Drawn Out of a Hat, Could Have Been Very Different

It might seem absurd to think of God of War as anything other than God of War now, but there was a time when Kratos and his vengeance against the pantheon of Greek gods was only a concept, and that concept didn’t yet have a name. One of the most difficult parts of the creative process can be coming up with a name that encompasses everything your creation is, whether that’s for a book, movie, or game. Would you believe that God of War’s title could have been very different if something else had been picked out of a hat?

Over on Twitter, an interesting conversation erupted surrounding Back to the Future and some studio notes that had originally urged Steven Spielberg to rename it Space Man From Pluto. It’s one of those things that just seems crazy now, but back then Back to the Future wasn’t yet the classic it is today. Coming back to the future, we’re now glad that those studio notes remain a footnote in the movie’s history and not the actual final title.

God of War Director Cory Barlog, making fun of this revelation, joked that God of War’s original title was going to be Angry Man From Ancient Greece. While Barlog’s comment may have been in jest, David Jaffe, the creator of God of War, chimed in with a story about the naming of the original game.

When creating the original game, the team was split on three titles: God of War, Dark Odyssey, and At the Hands of the Gods. Instead of argue endlessly, they decided that they would put the three names into a hat and whichever name got drawn would be the final title of the project. God of War was drawn and went on to become a massive success, but can you imagine an alternate universe where Kratos’ journey was instead called At the Hands of the Gods?

ACTUALLY it was originally between 3 titles: GOD OF WAR, DARK ODYSSEY, and AT THE HANDS OF THE GODS. We could not get everyone on the same page so all 3 went into a hat and we drew at random and agreed that whichever we drew would be the title.THANK ZEUS ‘GOD OF WAR’ came up! 🙂

— David Jaffe (@davidscottjaffe) March 5, 2019

What’s in a name? Do you think the selection of God of War as the title helped the game to succeed? Are you surprised to learn just how simply the name of something as iconic as God of War was chosen?