By Takudzwa Mawera
In July 2026, at the San Diego Comic-Con, Santa Monica studio announced the release date for ‘God of War Laufey’ for 16 February 2027, and generated backlash from fans of the beloved franchise.
The previous month (June), the same studio made it known that this part of the God of War saga will not feature Kratos.
This part of the story will be all about Kratos’s late wife Faye.
The backlash that followed was not focused on her as a character but more about fan expectations for the ‘God of War’ saga.
A blockbuster reveal, and an immediate backlash
The details of the reveal were extensive and illuminating given that there was a full 20 minutes of gameplay released to the public during June’s State of Play.
It highlighted Faye’s (a.k.a Laufey the Just and the Golden Hand of the Jotnar, the Norse world’s head protector of the Giants) journey through the afterlife (a.k.a the Everywhen) after she died at the start of the 2018 edition of God of War.
Her role as protector is perceived as a reputational issue due to director Ariel Lawrence’s account of Faye’s apparent failure to protect the Giants.
Lawrence goes on to describe the Everywhen as more of a prison than a paradise due to the fact that it is currently under the violent and brutal rule of two other Gods of War, Sekhmet and Begtse.
Intriguing features all glossed over
After 13 years, Santa Monica has reinstated the jump button and the ability to engage in aerial combat.
They have drawn inspiration from Greek-era games and paired them with the character-driven intimacy of the Norse era.
The story is centred around a sword attached to the enchanted ribbon called Rue and a soul-detaching ability that stems from her golden palm strike and an animated cube called Phranque (who is voiced by Jack Quaid).
Yet, despite all the aforementioned information, the discourse did not settle and was only centered around the fact that Kratos was unplayable.
Some fans felt misled by the title given that this new spin-off was being carried by a well known internationally acclaimed title.
In addition, fan forums focused on what casting Faye, a supporting character, as the lead meant after waiting years for a new Kratos-led edition of ‘God of War’.
A response just as swift as the backlash
Santa Monica was quick to respond within a day after the fanbase’s reaction.
They aired an extended interview featuring creative director Cory Barlog and Laufey director Ariel Lawrence, in which Barlog assured fans that there would always be Kratos-centred games throughout the rest of the saga.
Furthermore, to reiterate the point, in a separate interview with IGN, the project was framed and promoted as an expansion as opposed to a redirection of the original saga.
Barlog also made sure to mention that he had always intended to have Faye’s story independently explored in detail since 2018.
Thus, the idea that the Laufey spin-off was a reactive decision becomes invalid.
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Laufey’s director: No rookie to the franchise
Additionally, Lawrence is not an outsider brought in to redirect creative direction towards new avenues.
In 2003, she was part of the team that developed and released the marketing trailer for the original ‘God of War’ and has since continued to work on every single ‘God of War’ game from that point on with Barlog for 23 years.
According to Lawrence, she was under the assumption that she would be involved in the Kratos, God of War storytelling indefinitely for the entirety of her marketing career and was pleased to find out that she would be working on the Laufey project as well.
She also did not dismiss skepticism about the project and told GameSpot that she was happy that fans reacted and felt strongly about the ‘God of War’ saga as much as she does, instead of them not feeling anything at all.
It appears as though the fanbase was simply reacting to the timing and framing of the announcement as opposed to the actual decision concerning the project’s scope and character casting.
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A clear strategy announced at the San Diego Comic Con
By July 2026, the fanbase was greatly assured that this spin-off was not the only game currently in development and that the new game would be Kratos-led and set to pick up from the point where the Laufey spin-off ends.
A Greek-era trilogy is also confirmed to be in early development alongside the next part of the saga.
These two announcements clearly indicate that the Laufey project is just a stop along the way and a bridge between two Kratos-led game projects.
Despite the slight upset, the question raised by the backlash about whether Kratos was being cancelled has now been answered (It’s a firm no!).
Redirected protagonists: A familiar upset
This is not the first time this type of situation has occurred in the gaming industry.
Naughty Dog’s choice in 2020 to kill off Joel in ‘The Last of Us 2’ and force the players to engage in a playthrough with his killer, Abby, is a somewhat similar scenario.
By engaging with the story as Abby, who was playable for half the game, the aim was for players to understand her reasoning and choices for killing their beloved character and be more amicable to accepting change before it has been properly processed.
Kratos’ story is not over, but the fans had an almost identical reaction, as if replacing him in any way warranted an identical loss.
To conclude, at the end of the situation, the issue is not really about Faye or the mythology showcased in Everywhen, but rather about how swiftly a fanbase can decide that a founding character’s removal or absence from a trailer or gameplay was equivalent to abandonment.
It is worth noting that, ‘God of War Laufey’ will not launch for a couple of months.
So whether this backlash follows the game’s release or not depends on how gameplay with Faye develops throughout the finished game as opposed to judgement based on a 20-minute taster.
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