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God of War is easily one of Sony’s biggest series, and fans are excited about the newest title, God of War: Laufey. As a surprise, and confirming previous leaks, Kratos is not the protagonist; rather, it is his wife, Laufey, also known as Faye. Some fans are upset by this change and the series using the name but not following Kratos. However, Sony and Santa Monica Studio have reassured fans that Kratos remains central to the future of the God of War franchise, even as the studio prepares to explore a new chapter.
God of War’s Future Involved Kratos
The clarification came during an interview with Santa Monica Studio’s creative leader, Cory Barlog, and God of War: Laufey Game Director Ariel Lawrence. The pair discussed the decision to build an entirely new game around Faye, the giantess whose influence shaped the events of both God of War and God of War Ragnarök. Barlog and Lawrence’s statements revealed fans had nothing to worry about.
“There’s always going to be Kratos games, like, throughout the whole history. We’re super excited about that.” and “Kratos is the God of War. We have many more stories to tell with him. For now, we’re excited to take fans on a journey into the afterlife of the gods with Faye and hope you’ll come along for the ride!”
Kratos is the God of War – we have many more stories to tell with him. For now, we’re excited to take fans on a journey into the afterlife of the gods with Faye and hope you’ll come along for the ride!
— Santa Monica Studio – God of War Laufey (@SonySantaMonica) June 3, 2026
During the interview, Lawrence revealed that she did not initially expect the studio to move away from Kratos as its primary focus. Focusing on Laufey is part of a broader effort to explore more of the God of War universe, as already seen by God of War: Sons of Sparta, showing a young Kratos and his relationship with Deimos. With this mentality, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see an eventual game led by Atreus.
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Kratos is an iconic character, so it is wise that Santa Monica Studio has not written him out of the picture, even if he did receive a fairly happy ending in God of War: Ragnarok. He has been a part of PlayStation’s library for quite some time, and fans were understandably distraught at the possibility of him being retired from Sony’s roster. But for now, God of War: Laufey marks a significant shift in perspective for the franchise, even if it isn’t forever.
With this change in direction, we could see other God of War spin-off games focusing on different characters. Sindri is one name that has been floated, but it is hard to imagine the dwarf in an action RPG. A different genre would be a better fit, and Sons of Sparta proved God of War could tell stories that fit the series tone but with a new gameplay perspective.
PlayStation has largely been shifting its series in new and interesting directions. We’ve seen Ghost of Tsushima pass the torch from Jin to Atsu, just as The Last of Us made Ellie the star following Joel. Laufey taking the helm of God of War is a huge moment for the studio, even if it is just a spin-off game or one-off mainline title. Other studios have shown this technique of changing protagonists to be quite effective, and this looks to be another example based on what is known so far.
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