God of War III is a forthcoming installment in the God of War video game franchise,and the first to be exclusively released on the PlayStation 3 in 2009. It is the fifth chapter in the series chronologically, after God of War: Chains of Olympus, God of War, God of War: Betrayal and God of War II. The game was formally announced at E3 2008 with a teaser trailer, showing Kratos standing on Mount Olympus while lightning struck in the background, announcing "There will be only chaos."

Although little is known about the game at this point, it was confirmed to be in development by Cory Barlog at a God of War II launch event. He revealed that the game would run at full 1080p HD resolution, and the game would support Sixaxis tilt and vibration functions. This was stated before the DualShock 3 controller was announced; therefore causing confusion as the Sixaxis controller did not support rumble. Barlog also expressed an interest in adding a cooperative mode "if we can do something unique with it".

God of War director David Jaffe has said that, "God of War explains, or ultimately will explain, why there are no more Greek myths." He has also stated that it will be "hell on earth" as the gods and the titans battle each for domination, and that the series will explore the question of whether "man needs god". Though Jaffe and Barlog left Sony for other opportunities, they are still credited for the series and will possibly be involved in this installment. Jaffe, who co-founded his own development studio, Eat Sleep Play has recently expressed interest to be involved in development for God of War III.

An advertisement for God of War III has appeared on the back of instruction manuals of the retail version of God of War: Chains of Olympus, stating below that the game is ’coming soon’.

On 15 July 2008, a teaser was released at the E3 Game Show.