By now you’ve probably seen the 20-minute gameplay reveal of God of War Laufey, the next game in the God of War franchise, fresh from Sony’s State of Play showcase. The game stars Faye, who died in 2018’s God of War. You’d think, then, that God Of War Laufey would be a prequel. But it isn’t. Instead, the developers at Sony Santa Monica decided to tell a story that runs parallel to the timeline of 2018 and Ragnarok, depicting Faye’s journey through the afterlife.

Here’s the official blurb:

Experience the next chapter of the legendary God of War franchise - for both new and returning fans alike.

Death was supposed to be the end, but for Laufey (Faye), warrior and wife to Kratos, a new adventure is just beginning. Awakening unexpectedly in a strange land after her death, Faye discovers the plans she put in place to protect Kratos and Atreus in her absence are now at risk.

To save the ones she loves, Faye must fight through the afterlife of the gods - the Everywhen - where ruthless gods from across mythology vie for power in a land overflowing with dangerous magic. Harness Faye's speed, control, and relentlessness to overwhelm even the fiercest of foes with decisive, deadly precision.

So, why did Sony Santa Monica decide against doing a prequel? In an interview with IGN ahead of the State of Play reveal, which you can check out in full in the video below, game director Ariel Lawrence and Santa Monica Studio Head of Creative, Cory Barlog, revealed they had talked about a prequel, but felt picking things up after Faye’s death was a much more interesting proposition because it opened up the God of War universe in ways players don’t yet fully understand.

“It was super important for us to start on the same page as the players,” Lawrence said. “And where we left Faye was that she was dead. And we talked about a prequel and what we would have told a story about. And while those events are still quite interesting, it just felt like what we really wanted to start with was right where we left off and drive that story forward from Faye’s perspective, and then really put Faye and players in the same spot about exploring this new world.”

“Even back in 2018, we started building all this,” Barlog added. “We were setting tiny little narrative beats that were going to start to structurally support this growth of the universe. And going into Ragarok and having Odin's thrust be this fear: ‘What happens when I die? I know what happens to everybody else, I set it all up, but what happens to gods when they die?’ And that sort of question, which remained unanswered, was that sort of question out to the audience, that idea of, we are going to explore this.

“And one of the most famous deaths inside of this world is the inciting incident for this rebirth. And I think that is the perfect character for that perfect time to then start to say, there is more to this world than you know, beyond what you knew from the Greek era, beyond what you knew from where we were in Norse. But it just goes so much further beyond it. And it all connects to each other. It all influences each other. And the idea of being able to see her reborn in this new world and have to kind of get those awkward first steps together.”

God of War fans are already trying to work out if Faye’s journey through the afterlife of the gods is referenced in either the 2018 game or Ragnarok, or if she might have played a part in any unexplained events that occurred in either game from within Everywhen. Barlog’s comments suggest this is all part of some storytelling masterplan, so it will be interesting to see how it fits together.

We’ve got plenty more on God of War Laufey, including a roundup of reaction to the gameplay from across the internet (the decision not to do a prequel seems to be going down well), and an explainer on Faye herself if you need a catch-up on her story. And here's everything announced at State of Play June 2026 if you need a catch up on what PlayStation has in store.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.