# God of War: Chains of Olympus
**God of War: Chains of Olympus** is a 2008 action-adventure game for the [PlayStation Portable](https://www.edgepedia.org/playstation-portable) (PSP), developed by [Ready at Dawn](https://www.edgepedia.org/ready-at-dawn) as a prequel set in the years before the events of *God of War* (2005) and *God of War II*.[1](https://www.jeuxvideo.com/news/2008/00024639-god-of-war-chains-of-olympus-interview-de-ru-weerasuriya.htm) • [2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJipcExSPlo) Players again control Kratos, the Spartan warrior bound in servitude to the gods of Olympus, as he begins to atone for the murder of his own family.[1](https://www.jeuxvideo.com/news/2008/00024639-god-of-war-chains-of-olympus-interview-de-ru-weerasuriya.htm)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Platform and release | Sony PSP, 2008; available on UMD or as a download[2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJipcExSPlo) |
| Developer | Ready at Dawn Studios of Santa Ana, California, in collaboration with SCEA's Santa Monica studio[3](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Pro-Audio-Review/Pro-Audio-Review-2008-04.pdf) |
| Story placement | Prequel set during the years before *God of War* 1 and 2, when Kratos serves the gods of Olympus[1](https://www.jeuxvideo.com/news/2008/00024639-god-of-war-chains-of-olympus-interview-de-ru-weerasuriya.htm) |
| New weapon | The Gauntlet of Zeus, created by Zeus to bring down the Titans[1](https://www.jeuxvideo.com/news/2008/00024639-god-of-war-chains-of-olympus-interview-de-ru-weerasuriya.htm) |
| Sales | Ready at Dawn had sold over 2.3 million copies of *Daxter* and reported being on track to beat that with *Chains of Olympus*[4](https://www.engadget.com/2008-06-11-ready-at-dawn-talks-abandoning-the-psp-piracy-and-being-origin.html) |
## Development
Ready at Dawn, already known for the PSP game *Daxter*, proposed the title to Sony a little over two years before release.[1](https://www.jeuxvideo.com/news/2008/00024639-god-of-war-chains-of-olympus-interview-de-ru-weerasuriya.htm) [Ru Weerasuriya](https://www.edgepedia.org/ru-weerasuriya), the studio's cofounder, wrote the story and oversaw the game's creative aspects, while Cory Barlog of Sony's Santa Monica studio oversaw the project from the publisher side; Barlog noted that Ready at Dawn was doing the bulk of the work.[5](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/qanda-breaking-down-the-chains-of-olympus/1100-6190712/) • [6](https://blog.playstation.com/?p=105)
**Squeezing the series onto a handheld.** Weerasuriya said the team tried to reproduce the *God of War* experience without shrinking it simply because it ran on a different platform, expecting to be compared not with other PSP games but with the PS2 entries.[1](https://www.jeuxvideo.com/news/2008/00024639-god-of-war-chains-of-olympus-interview-de-ru-weerasuriya.htm) The game's seamless loading, a signature of the series, was achieved with an unusual workaround: because the PSP's hardware made seamless loading a challenge, a movie file ran in the background to keep things smooth, and that file was the intro cinematic of *Daxter*, Ready at Dawn's earlier PSP game.[7](https://www.gamesradar.com/games/god-of-war/god-of-war-psps-seamless-loading-was-only-possible-because-a-jak-and-daxter-game-was-also-running-in-the-background/) The game also took advantage of Sony's decision to unlock the PSP's processor speed.[6](https://blog.playstation.com/?p=105)
The production was large for a handheld title: tens of thousands of lines of recorded dialog and combat and creature sounds, multiple layers of sound effects, and more than five hours of original score.[3](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Pro-Audio-Review/Pro-Audio-Review-2008-04.pdf)
## Gameplay and story changes
The combat system carries over from the PS2 games, with a few changes of its own. The magic system works differently from previous entries: magic can be triggered at any moment, whereas earlier games required players to equip a spell before using it. Kratos also receives a new weapon, the Gauntlet of Zeus, a powerful weapon that plays very differently from his previous arms; the game gives it a backstory that could be expanded in later titles.[1](https://www.jeuxvideo.com/news/2008/00024639-god-of-war-chains-of-olympus-interview-de-ru-weerasuriya.htm) [Narration](https://www.edgepedia.org/narration) is provided by [Linda Hunt](https://www.edgepedia.org/linda-hunt), whose voice work the developer described as superb.[1](https://www.jeuxvideo.com/news/2008/00024639-god-of-war-chains-of-olympus-interview-de-ru-weerasuriya.htm)
The story picks up at the point, shown in the first *God of War*, where Kratos realizes his family's death at his own hands has made him an endless curse and a servant of Ares, and he leaves Ares's service to seek repentance.[1](https://www.jeuxvideo.com/news/2008/00024639-god-of-war-chains-of-olympus-interview-de-ru-weerasuriya.htm)
## Presentation and reception
Cutscenes alternate between three styles: prerendered full-motion video, footage from the in-game engine, and concept art brought to life with animation and camera movement.[8](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/god-of-war-chains-of-olympus-review/1900-6187153/) GameSpot's review called the visuals outstanding on both technical and artistic levels and said the game delivers almost everything one would want from a *God of War* game on the PSP.[8](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/god-of-war-chains-of-olympus-review/1900-6187153/) Later assessments have noted the game's short length and faithful translation of the series' combat, puzzles, and spectacle to the small screen.[9](https://as.com/meristation/2021/11/21/reportajes/1637477442_866895.html)
## Aftermath
Despite the critical praise, Ready at Dawn ended its PSP work around the game's launch, mailing its entire stock of dev kits back to Sony. President [Didier Malenfant](https://www.edgepedia.org/didier-malenfant) said the studio felt it had done everything it wanted with the PSP and was moving to original intellectual property on home consoles, while declining to name piracy as a deciding factor.[4](https://www.engadget.com/2008-06-11-ready-at-dawn-talks-abandoning-the-psp-piracy-and-being-origin.html) The studio later returned to the franchise for *God of War: Ghost of Sparta* (2010), building on the precedent set by *Chains of Olympus*.[10](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/in-depth-i-god-of-war-ghost-of-sparta-i-ready-at-dawn-s-mythical-recipe)
## References
1. [God of War: Chains of Olympus: Interview de Ru Weerasuriya, jeuxvideo.com (27 February 2008)](https://www.jeuxvideo.com/news/2008/00024639-god-of-war-chains-of-olympus-interview-de-ru-weerasuriya.htm)
2. [Classic Game Room HD: God of War: Chains of Olympus PSP review, YouTube (2009)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJipcExSPlo)
3. [Pro Audio Review, April 2008 (feature on the game's audio production)](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Pro-Audio-Review/Pro-Audio-Review-2008-04.pdf)
4. [Ready at Dawn talks abandoning the PSP, piracy and being original, Engadget (11 June 2008)](https://www.engadget.com/2008-06-11-ready-at-dawn-talks-abandoning-the-psp-piracy-and-being-origin.html)
5. [Q&A: Breaking down the Chains of Olympus, GameSpot (12 May 2008)](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/qanda-breaking-down-the-chains-of-olympus/1100-6190712/)
6. [Inside the Developers Studio: Follow-up; Cory Barlog, PlayStation.Blog (25 June 2007)](https://blog.playstation.com/?p=105)
7. [God of War PSP's seamless loading was only possible because a Jak & Daxter game was also running in the background, GamesRadar+ (22 March 2025)](https://www.gamesradar.com/games/god-of-war/god-of-war-psps-seamless-loading-was-only-possible-because-a-jak-and-daxter-game-was-also-running-in-the-background/)
8. [God of War: Chains of Olympus Review, GameSpot (2008)](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/god-of-war-chains-of-olympus-review/1900-6187153/)
9. [PSP: los mejores juegos de la portátil que se atrevió a desafiar a Nintendo, MeriStation (21 November 2021)](https://as.com/meristation/2021/11/21/reportajes/1637477442_866895.html)
10. [In-Depth: God of War: Ghost of Sparta & Ready at Dawn's Mythical Recipe, Game Developer (2010)](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/in-depth-i-god-of-war-ghost-of-sparta-i-ready-at-dawn-s-mythical-recipe)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Video games and digital play › Games and gameplay › Individual game titles › Individual PlayStation-platform game titles › Action-adventure and open-world titles*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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