Kratos Out, Faye In: God of War Laufey Team Reveal Why They Swapped Protagonists

Sony shocked fans during the latest State of Play by announcing a brand-new God of War title—with a massive twist: Kratos is taking a back seat so his wife, Faye, can step into the spotlight.

To explain the reasoning behind this unexpected shift, Santa Monica Studio creative director Cory Barlog and game director Ariel Lawrence sat down for an exclusive chat with IGN just before the event.

Explaining the Shift From Kratos to Faye

'We'll always tell stories about Kratos, but I think for us, it was just a chance to talk about somebody who was so pivotal to the beginning and get to know them and push beyond into this new world and give us some place to be surprised and see how things connect. So for us, it's not a departure; it's more of an expansion,' Barlog explained.

The top executive revealed that his desire to dive deeper into Faye's backstory dates all the way back to 2018, viewing God of War Laufey as the perfect vehicle for her story. 'The character to usher us into this sort of new world is this character, who is such an anchor to the rebirth of where we were going with the franchise.'

Barlog also noted that despite her absence from the screen, Faye remained the driving force behind the recent narratives.

'She was omnipresent but visually not represented. In 2018 she was a feeling; she was a phantom and a specter but one whose tendrils stretched out through the entirety of the narrative, and it gave her this interesting sense of power inside of it. It was like, man, it would be so interesting to see who she was before, but it also would be interesting to see how things continue forward,' he said.

Designing a Warrior to Match Kratos' Brutality

The opening twenty minutes of footage, alongside insights from Lawrence and Barlog, make one thing abundantly clear: Faye matches her husband's sheer brutality on the battlefield.

'Kratos is like a brick wall, and he's a little stoic, but it's just that his brutality is different,' said Lawrence. 'How do we show somebody who's his equal as she is? So when we looked, we got to think about all the [Santa Monica] games.'

'The Greek era had an influence on Faye. The Norse era has an influence on Faye. So going to our more agile combat roots but also retaining our companions, our gritty closer combat. How do those marry together and then make something that's uniquely Faye-feeling while still being a Santa Monica game?'

But who exactly is the woman stepping into Kratos' legendary shadow?

Who Is the Mysterious Figure Stepping Into the Lead?

The entire Norse saga only exists because of Faye. As Kratos' deceased wife and Atreus' mother, her passing was the ultimate trigger that forced the duo toward Ragnarök and Odin's downfall. Past games kept her in the background, leaving players to piece her story together through dialogue, but those hints steadily revealed a woman who practically controlled the fate of the Nine Realms.

To her fellow giants, she was 'Laufey the Just'—a fierce Jötunn who hid her true identity while building a quiet life in Midgard with Kratos and Atreus. The lore paints her as a heroic rebel who defended the vulnerable, defied the Aesir, and shielded her kind from Odin's brutal crusades.

Masterminding the Franchise Lore

As the Norse plot unravels, it turns out Faye was pulling the strings long before players ever picked up a controller. From collaborating with Týr to locking Odin out of Jötunheim, she used her foresight to pre-plan the franchise's biggest milestones. In fact, almost every path and clue Kratos and Atreus stumble upon during their travels was deliberately left behind by her.