Next God of War stars Kratos and ties directly to God of War Laufey

Santa Monica Studio confirmed at San Diego Comic-Con that a new God of War game starring Kratos is in development, and it will connect directly to the events of God of War Laufey — the upcoming game centered on Faye, Kratos' late wife.

The announcement came during the God of War Laufey panel at SDCC, where Santa Monica Studio head of creative Cory Barlog confirmed Kratos as the lead playable character of the next mainline entry. Crucially, Barlog made clear the new Kratos game will tie directly into Laufey's story, making it a strong reason not to skip Faye's game even for players who are primarily there for the Ghost of Sparta.

Santa Monica had already signaled that Kratos wasn't being permanently sidelined when God of War Laufey was announced — the studio said at the time that his story wasn't over. God of War Laufey focuses on Faye before the events of the 2018 God of War reboot, with Deborah Ann Woll voicing the character. The Norse saga, which ran through God of War (2018) and God of War Ragnarök, wrapped Kratos' arc with his son Atreus, so a new chapter built around Faye's backstory makes narrative sense as a bridge.

The confirmation should settle some of the online noise from fans frustrated that a God of War game would ship without Kratos as the protagonist. With the two games now explicitly linked, skipping Laufey risks missing context that feeds directly into whatever Kratos does next.