Sony’s Santa Monica Studio has delayed God of War: Laufey from February 16 to May 20, 2027, five months after a reveal that pushed Kratos out of the lead and left the God of War audience arguing with itself.
Laufey is a PlayStation 5 exclusive starring Faye, Kratos’s late wife and Atreus’s mother, who is revived in the Everywhen, a realm for the gods and demigods of the world’s pantheons. Deborah Ann Woll plays her. Kratos is not the playable lead, a first for the franchise. The game was revealed at the June 3 State of Play, and the February 16 date was announced at the San Diego Comic-Con panel on July 25.
The studio posted its decision on social media with no reason beyond polish. The full statement reads: “Since the reveal of God of War Laufey in June, we’ve been deeply grateful to see so much excitement for Faye’s journey through the Everywhen. We don’t take for granted the trust placed in the studio to make an extraordinary experience worthy of the passion and dedication of our fans. With this in mind, we’ve made the decision to delay God of War Laufey’s release to May 20th, 2027. We will make the most of each moment until then by putting in the finishing touches and pushing the game to its fullest potential. On behalf of everyone on the team, we appreciate your patience and we’ll be back to share more updates soon! - Santa Monica Studio”
The reveal drew harsh criticism. God of War creator David Jaffe reacted to the State of Play footage on June 3: “That looks like sh-t, I’m going to be honest with you.” He added: “You’ve lost the gore and the violence that made the first game.” Other fans objected to the lighter tone, the cosmic cube companion and the removal of Kratos from the lead.
The studio pushed back. Director Ariel Lawrence told GameSpot: “I understand the skepticism.” She added: “I hope they will give it a chance and be excited to play.” Woll, asked about the reaction at Florida Supercon, said: “I feel totally unbothered.” She added: “I just know it’s great.” Christopher Judge, the voice of Kratos, called the game “a banger” at Fan Expo Canada and said: “People are going to be blown away.”
Santa Monica has also moved to reassure the base on the character the fans want. Creative head Cory Barlog announced at Comic-Con that a Kratos-led game is in development and that it will tie to Laufey. Studio leadership has said it can’t stop telling stories about him.
So the picture now is a flagship PlayStation franchise that took its title character out of the lead role, drew a loud reaction from fans, promised the real Kratos game later, and has now pushed the release date back by three months. The studio calls it finishing touches. Santa Monica has earned trust with its past work, and a delay for polish is common in the industry.
The audience is the one that decides this game’s fate in May. Will the Kratos fans who rejected the reveal in June be there on launch day?
If it wasn’t going to be Kratos it should have been Loki so sick of this girl boss crap