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God of War dev reveals that Kratos' axe grows bigger when it's in his hand

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By Jordan Gerblick published 21 August 2021

Huh...

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God of War
(Image credit: Sony Santa Monica)
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An animator on 2018's God of War has revealed a curious - intimate, even - little detail about everyone's favorite tatted deity and his favorite tool: Kratos' axe gets about 20% bigger when it's in his hand, and we are all full-grown adults who find nothing funny about that at all.

Seriously though, now that I've satisfied my need to make stupid jokes at even the weakest opportunity, this is a cool insight into how game developers tweak the rules of their worlds to be more appealing to the eye. PlayStation Studios animator Robert Morrison took to Twitter to share what he almost certainly never expected to be twisted for our perverted amusement.

Fun lil dev fact. Kratos’ axe is a different scale when it’s in his hand than when it’s on his back. 🤓 https://t.co/5jm3T5eRnlAugust 20, 2021

In a private message, Morrison explained to me that developers use tricks like these "usually to give the best visual presentation for any given camera view or scenario. Helps to 'frame the shot' if you will." It's possible that other assets in the game were tweaked in a similar way for perspective, like Kratos' blades for example, but Morrison isn't 100% sure.

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Hopefully, Morrison and other devs continue sharing similar secrets, but I'm afraid we might've squandered the privilege after this little stunt.

Correction: This article has been updated to reflect that Morrison doesn't "recall any scaling (changing of size)" of Mimir's head. We regret the error.

God of War tips | Best God of War armor | God of War Jotnar Shrine locations | God of War Nornir chests guide | How to beat the God of War Valkyries | How to get the God of War Valkyrie armor | God of War treasure maps | God of War Niflheim tips | God of War Muspelheim tips | God of War Eyes of Odin guide | God of War artifact guide God of War ending | God of War secret ending | God of War secrets 

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Jordan Gerblick
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Staff Writer

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.

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