God of War Laufey: Everything We Know About the Next God of War Game
- Teacher Nine
- Aug 19
- 8 min read
Updated: Aug 23
I am a God of War head.
I have played pretty much every mainline game in the series, and I've finished God of War II, God of War III and God of War (2018) more than once. I was there for the Greek-era Kratos who would tear through gods, monsters and occasionally some poor innocent person who happened to be standing between him and a puzzle solution. And I was there when Santa Monica Studio did something I don't think most of us saw coming: gave this walking ball of rage a son, dropped him into Norse mythology and somehow turned God of War into a story about fatherhood without completely sanding the edges off the character.
God of War (2018) is still one of the greatest games I've ever played. Ragnarök was also a pretty strong entry too.
So when I heard another God of War game was coming, I was already paying attention.
Then I found out we're not playing as Kratos.
We're playing as his wife.
God of War Laufey is officially coming to PlayStation 5 on February 16, 2027, and instead of moving directly forward with Kratos and Atreus, Santa Monica Studio is finally putting Faye at the center of the story.
And judging by what we've seen so far, this isn't looking like a little side story.
Is God of War Laufey an Actual Game?
Yes. God of War Laufey is a full single-player, story-driven action-adventure game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment.
More importantly, Santa Monica Studio has described Laufey as the next mainline entry in the God of War series.
That distinction matters.
Faye isn't simply getting a small DLC chapter or cameo. For the first time in a mainline God of War game, Kratos is not the playable protagonist.
Instead, we finally get to see what Faye was capable of.
And if you played God of War (2018) and Ragnarök, you already know that the answer is apparently: quite a lot.
Who Is Laufey in God of War?
Laufey, better known to Kratos as Faye, was Kratos' second wife and Atreus' mother.
She was also much more than either of them initially understood.
Faye was a Jötunn, a guardian of the Giants, a rebel against the Aesir and an extremely powerful warrior in her own right. We spend most of God of War (2018) following a journey that she planned before her death, and the more we learn about her, the clearer it becomes that Faye had been moving pieces around the board long before Kratos and Atreus understood the game they were playing.
That's part of what makes her an interesting choice for a protagonist.
Faye has been enormously important to the Norse saga while simultaneously being absent for most of it. Her death literally sets God of War (2018) in motion.
God of War Laufey finally lets us meet the woman behind all of those decisions.
Deborah Ann Woll, who portrayed Faye in God of War Ragnarök, returns to play her here.
What Is God of War Laufey About?
This is where things get weird in a very God of War way.
The story begins after Faye's death.
Instead of simply remaining dead, she awakens in a mysterious realm called the Everywhen, described as an afterlife of the gods where beings and magic from different mythologies can collide.
Faye discovers that the plans she left behind to protect Kratos and Atreus are in danger, which means that even after dying, she apparently still has work to do.
That sends her deeper into the Everywhen, where she will encounter gods and creatures from multiple mythologies rather than being confined strictly to the Norse pantheon.
We already know that includes Sekhmet, the Egyptian goddess associated with war and destruction, and Begtse, a war deity from Tibetan and Mongolian Buddhist traditions.
That alone could have enormous implications for where God of War goes next.
The series has already jumped from Greek mythology to Norse mythology. The Everywhen gives Santa Monica Studio a place where those boundaries can become much less important.
How Does God of War Laufey Fit Into the Timeline?
This may end up being one of the most interesting parts of the entire game.
Faye dies immediately before the events of God of War (2018), and Laufey begins with her awakening after that death. That means her journey through the Everywhen overlaps with events we already experienced from Kratos and Atreus' perspective.
And the Everywhen doesn't appear to operate according to ordinary rules of time and space.
That opens some very interesting doors.
There are already theories that Laufey could explain unanswered moments from the Norse games or reveal that Faye was influencing events from behind the scenes even after her death. Considering how carefully she arranged Kratos and Atreus' journey before dying, that wouldn't exactly be out of character.
The bigger question is how far into the existing timeline her story will travel.
How Will Faye's Combat Be Different From Kratos?
This is probably the part that has me most curious.
Santa Monica Studio clearly isn't trying to turn Faye into Kratos with different character art.
Her combat is built around speed, mobility and maintaining momentum, while still keeping the heavy impact expected from God of War.
The developers have specifically said they are combining the fluid movement associated with the Greek-era games with the combat and world-building philosophy of the modern Norse games.
And yes:
Jumping is back.
Faye can transition between ground and aerial combat without interrupting her attacks, giving her a much more mobile fighting style than Kratos.
She also has some wild abilities of her own.
Known as the Golden Hand of the Jötnar, Faye can use her golden palm to knock an enemy's soul out of its body. That soul can then become part of the fight, including being attacked or launched into other enemies to extend combos.
So while Kratos fights like an angry refrigerator somebody threw down a mountain, Faye appears designed around speed, control and aggression.
Different doesn't necessarily mean softer.
What Weapons Does Laufey Use?
One of Faye's major weapons is a powerful sword connected to another new character named Rue, an enchanted ribbon guardian voiced by Perlina Lau.
Faye is also accompanied by Phranque, a cosmic cube voiced by Jack Quaid.
Yes.
A cosmic cube.
God of War has apparently decided that talking severed heads were merely the opening act.
Both characters accompany Faye through the Everywhen and appear to fill some of the companion and storytelling space occupied by characters such as Mimir, Brok and Sindri in the previous games.
There is still plenty we don't know about Faye's full arsenal, though, and I'm particularly interested in whether we will eventually see her wield the Leviathan Axe.
Remember: it was hers before it was Kratos'.
Is God of War Laufey Coming to PS4?
No.
God of War Laufey is currently announced for PlayStation 5, with no PS4 version confirmed.
Both God of War (2018) and God of War Ragnarök were available on PS4, but Laufey appears to mark the point where the franchise is fully moving beyond the previous generation.
That makes sense considering where PlayStation is in the PS5 lifecycle. The console has been on the market for years now, and some of the biggest games still ahead are clearly being designed around current-generation hardware rather than maintaining compatibility with PS4.
Sony has also not announced a PC version of God of War Laufey. That doesn't necessarily tell us what might happen later, but as of right now, PS5 is the only confirmed platform.
When Does God of War Laufey Come Out?
God of War Laufey is scheduled to release on February 16, 2027 for PlayStation 5.
The game can already be wishlisted through the PlayStation Store.
Pricing and preorder editions have not yet been announced, so expect more information as we get closer to launch.
Is Kratos in God of War Laufey?
We don't know exactly how much Kratos will appear.
Considering that Faye's entire mission revolves around protecting Kratos and Atreus, it would be surprising if they had no presence at all. But Santa Monica Studio has deliberately positioned this as Faye's story.
And I actually think that's important.
Kratos has already undergone one of the biggest character transformations in gaming. The original games gave us a man consumed by rage, revenge and increasingly horrifying brutality.
The Norse games didn't pretend that version of Kratos never existed. They asked what happens when that man gets older, becomes a father and has to live with what he did.
Not everybody loved the change.
I did.
I don't want Kratos completely declawed, but I also don't need him frozen in the same emotional state forever. God of War (2018) worked for me precisely because he was still Kratos. He was just a Kratos who suddenly had to raise a child when communication has never exactly been one of his legendary weapons.
Laufey feels like another gamble in that evolution.
What Are God of War Fans Saying About Laufey?
This is where things are already getting interesting.
The reaction is definitely mixed.
There are fans who are immediately excited by the idea of finally playing as Faye, especially after two games spent establishing how powerful and important she was. Others are fascinated by the Everywhen and what multiple mythologies occupying the same realm could mean for the future of God of War.
The theory machine is already running, too.
People are wondering whether Athena could appear, whether gods Kratos killed during the Greek saga might exist somewhere in the Everywhen, whether Faye could interact with events from God of War (2018), and whether the mysterious mask from Ragnarök is connected to this realm. Some fans even suspect Laufey could finally explain unanswered events from the previous games.
And then there is the other side.
Some players simply don't want a God of War game without Kratos.
Others are worried that making Faye the protagonist represents another move away from what they loved about the original games. That debate has existed in some form ever since God of War reinvented itself in 2018, and putting Kratos' wife in the driver's seat was never going to make it quieter.
I understand being protective of what makes God of War feel like God of War. I don't want the series to lose its brutality, its scale, its combat or that feeling that at any moment somebody may make the catastrophic mistake of challenging the wrong person.
But I'm not bothered by Faye getting a game.
I'm interested in whether Santa Monica Studio can pull it off.
Because if Laufey can combine the speed and fluidity of the Greek games with the storytelling, world-building and combat systems of the Norse era, there is potentially something very good sitting in the middle.
God of War Laufey Could Be Bigger Than a Faye Spinoff
The part I'm watching most closely isn't whether Faye can replace Kratos.
She doesn't need to.
It's what the Everywhen allows God of War to become.
Egyptian mythology is already represented. Other pantheons are entering the picture. The rules surrounding death, time and the separation between mythologies suddenly seem much less concrete.
And somewhere in all of that is Kratos, a man who has already left one pantheon of dead gods behind him and stumbled into another.
God of War Laufey could simply tell us the story of what happened to Faye after she died.
Or it could quietly be building the bridge to whatever comes next.
Either way, February 16, 2027 is now one of the dates to watch for God of War fans.
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