God of War Laufey, the next instalment in the acclaimed franchise, was pitched by creative director Cory Barlog to actress Deborah Ann Woll back in 2018, the same year the original God of War reboot launched. Woll, who portrays Laufey, revealed she had kept the project secret for nearly a decade.
Long-Planned Spin-Off
In an interview with Comic Gaming magazine, Woll explained that Barlog pitched the idea to her in 2018, and the studio had known about it even earlier. 'He pitched it to me in 2018, and they had known about it before then,' Woll said. 'It’s wild. Like when Cory brought me in to talk about doing Ragnarök and show me the 2018 game, he already had a poster for the Laufey game with me and a cube. A cube that’s been there since the beginning. It’s deeply a part of the lore.'
The announcement of God of War Laufey during a recent State of Play presentation surprised many fans, as the franchise's direction after 2022's God of War Ragnarök had been uncertain. The Valhalla DLC rounded off Kratos' story, leading to speculation that the series might shift to Atreus or Freya. Instead, the focus turned to Laufey, Kratos' late wife, who only appeared briefly in Ragnarök during dream sequences.
Expanding the Universe
Woll teased that God of War Laufey represents a new direction for the franchise while also continuing Kratos' story. 'I pinch myself that I get to be a part of this and that I get to lead the charge for a little bit of this kind of new direction,' she said. 'The other direction is going to continue going forward. But we’re going to put a little time and focus on expanding this world and really trying to say, this is us doubling down on the world of God of War.'
She added, 'We want this to be huge. We want you to feel like there’s such an untapped universe. And this is just the beginning of a step into some of that.'
Kratos' Future and Release Timeline
Earlier this month, Barlog teased that there would be more games starring Kratos in the future, although a new sequel might be a few years off due to the studio also working on a God of War remake trilogy. God of War Laufey does not have a release date yet, but insiders believe it could launch in early 2027.
