God of War's director officially confirms the name of protagonist Kratos' son after a fan's discovery of what the character is to be called in the forthcoming game.

As many fans will likely agree, the reveal of Sony and Santa Monica Studio's forthcoming God of War title last year resulted in one of the best video game trailers of 2016, as it walked the line between providing a solid look at the title's gameplay and also teasing story elements that begged greater questions about Kratos, his current environment, and the kind of relationship he has with his son. Now, one among these many queries have been answered thanks to God of War's director Cory Barlog stepping up to confirm that Kratos' son is not simply some nameless progeny of the Ghost of Sparta, but the boy is called Atreus.

The particular bit of news involving Atreus comes from God of War director Cory Barlog taking to Twitter to credit a fan for their discovery of the character's name. As it happens, the fan came across the name of Kratos' son in the comments section of an MP3 file for the game's E3 2016 Overture, which was the score played during the first reveal of the title's gameplay footage last summer.

For those curious about the secrets Atreus' name could hold when it comes to what his role may be in God of War, with the boy's given name being Greek in origin, it's quite possible his name is related somehow to Kratos' past, which could be a factor that comes into play in the forthcoming title. Should that occur, then the game's use of Norse mythology will more than likely loosely intertwine with the lore from Greece.

Of course, while it's definitely interesting to finally learn the name of Kratos' son, it's a safe bet to make that most God of War fans are curious as to how the action-driven aspects of the game will operate for the protagonist and his biological sidekick. Several months ago, the title's lead gameplay engineer, Jeet Shroff, shared some details about the way Kratos and his son's combat system works, with Atreus being a somewhat passive character on the battlefield that can help out his father occasionally – that is, until he manages to progress and hold his own side-by-side with the Ghost of Sparta.

Aside from this recent discovery involving Atreus, God of War still has plenty more to reveal in the coming weeks and months, especially with its release date still being unknown. Thankfully, though, fans can take solace in the fact that progress for the game's development is moving forward according to schedule, with Santa Monica Studio recently revealing that the "whole game" is playable from start to finish at the company's offices. With that being the case, the developer undoubtedly has plenty of surprises in store for God of War fans in 2017.

God of War is currently in development for PlayStation 4.