2018’s God of War was a massive hit, even winning some awards, including the best game of the year at The Game Awards 2018. That being said, it wasn’t without some hardships. During an interview at Gamelab in Spain, creative director, Cory Balrog explained what happened. In the early development, Sony officials wanted the protagonist, who’s been around since the beginning, gone.

Early in discussion, people were saying we had to get rid of Kratos . . . It was like, ‘he’s annoying, he’s done.’

The fact of the matter, Kratos was made to be an anti-hero. Thus, he was more unlikable due to the lack of good examples at the time and general design. But, overall, Balrog managed to convince them with the redemption story that is 2018’s God of War.

Some people at Sony also wanted to do away with Kratos’ son, Atreus. But, it clearly didn’t happen. Partly due to good examples such as The Last of Us‘ Ellie as how companions can work in games.