God of War Release Date and Special Editions Announced with New Gameplay Trailer

 

Finally the release date for the highly anticipated God of War has been announced following rumours and various leaks, Sony now have a set confirmed date.  God of War will release exclusively on the PlayStation 4 worldwide on Friday, April 20^th 2018.  To mark the release date announcement, a brand new gameplay trailer has been released; you can feast your eyes upon the stunning new trailer above.  The trailer gives us a further hint to the bond that we can expect to see between Kratos and his son, Atreus, who in Greek mythology, a boy of the same name is the son of Hippodamia.

Last week the awesome God of War Collector’s Stone Mason Edition was announced for North America, at the time of writing, I had hoped that this edition will not be exclusive to the region, but sadly that is to be the case.  However, various editions have just been announced for the UK in what looks to be at quick glance, a Collector’s Edition identical to its North American Stone Mason Edition counterpart.  But at close inspection, you will see that it’s missing several, quite cool items.  Priced at $149.99 USD/$199.99 CAD, the Stone Mason Edition description reads “Available in the US and Canada only, this edition includes everything in the Collector’s Edition along with four very distinct, rare items directly from the game.”

So what’s missing from the UK Collector’s Edition?  Well, we’ll be missing the Stone Mason Ring, a Mimir Talking Head Keychain, as well as 2” Horse and Troll carving models.  There is also some digital content with the Defender of the Chosen Shield.  I wonder if we’ll see the items in Stone Mason Edition as pre-order bonuses in other regions?

Priced at £119.99 and exclusive to Game in the UK, you can have a look at the UK Collector’s Edition and its contents below, I’ll also include an image of the North American exclusive Stone Mason Edition, so that you can compare the two.

Collector’s Edition includes:

• 9” Kratos & Atreus Statue
• Steel Book Case including God of War PS4 Game
• 2 Inch Huldra Brothers Carvings
• Exclusive Lithograph
• Cloth Map

Digital Content Includes:

• Death’s Vow Armour Set
• Exile’s Guardian Shield
• Dark Horse Comic
• Dark Horse Art book
• Dynamic Theme

Personally, I think it’s a shame that despite both editions being nearly identical, because of the region in which you’re located, many will miss out.  I’m no expert of course, but I’m sure the powers that be who are in charge, could have made the Stone Mason Edition available in other regions if they really wanted too, but I’m probably wrong.

However, if you want to import, both Amazon.com and GameStop ship to the UK (I’m not sure about other regions) and taking into account currency conversion, delivery and custom costs, the price difference should work out to be just over £30 over the UK’s £119.99 Collector’s Edition.  With the total cost being around $215 to import the Stone Mason Edition, expect the cost to be about £155, which probably isn’t all that bad, all things considered.  As well as the Stone Mason Edition, the Collector’s Edition available in the UK is also available in the US at Amazon.com for $129.99, which makes it that little more frustration knowing that those options are not available elsewhere.

Moving on the Stone Mason/Collector Edition’s, available at launch for £69.99 will also be the Limited Edition copy of God of War.  The Limited Edition will include the Steelbook Case (found in the above editions), the game, a mini Dark Horse art book, as well as a Dynamic PS4 Theme, and the Death’s Vow Armour Set and Exile’s Guardian Shield DLC.  Which from what I can see, is a European exclusive, which again is a tad disappointing.  If you didn’t want to folk out the cash for a more expensive edition, but wanted something more special than a standard edition, then the Limited Edition would be a perfect purchase.  Like the Stone Mason Edition, in my opinion, this cheaper Limited Edition shouldn’t be restricted to a single region.

Priced at £52.99/$69.99USD/$89.99 CAD on the PSN Store, there will of course be a Digital Deluxe Edition, which includes the game (obviously), digital art book, digital comic book, a Dynamic PS4 Theme, and the Death’s Vow Armour and Exile’s Guardian Shield DLC.  However, if you live in the US and Canada, by pre-ordering the Digital Deluxe Edition, you will be gifted with a “sweet, exclusive, shiny, limited-run God of War physical pin.”

All pre-orders will also include three shield DLC skins, while various specific retailers will offer you the Luck of Ages XP boost, which grants an additional 10+ Luck and an extra Enhancement Slot.

Does some of these editions being exclusive to certain regions bother you or do you not care all that much? Let us know in the comments of our social media channels.  God of War will release for PlayStation 4 on Friday, April 20^th.  In the meantime, you can also check out some juicy screenshots below.