Sony Interactive EntertainmentLast year, the God of War series turned 20. Kratos has been slaughtering his way through ancient monsters of myth and entire pantheons of gods for over two decades now, and the fact that there are nine mainline entries and spin-offs, plus a TV adaptation in the works, is proof that gamers can’t get enough of him. He’s one of the most celebrated video game characters of the modern era, popular enough to have guest appearances in both the Soulcalibur and Mortal Kombat franchises, and after the immense success of the original Greek trilogy, his rewritten characterization in the Norse era added more depth and nuance to a complex antihero.Now, for the first time in the series’ long run, a God of War title will be led by someone other than Kratos. The upcoming spin-off God of War: Laufey focuses on his second wife, Laufey, aka Faye, the frost giant warrior who waged war against Odin and the Aesir gods to protect her people. Despite a first look at PlayStation’s State of Play event that teased familiar gameplay with exciting new hooks, the game’s announcement was met with a fair bit of controversy over what more than a few people saw as attempts to replace Kratos — although the recent announcement at San Diego Comic-Con of a new Kratos-centered game exposes just how absurd the entire situation was.Faye (played by Deborah Ann Woll) has been an important character for two games, and now she gets to step out of the shadows. | Sony Interactive EntertainmentAlongside a February 16, 2027 release date for God of War: Laufey, the SDCC panel revealed that another new installment would be following shortly after, once again following Kratos and, presumably, his young son Atreus. While plot details are light, the reveal is more than enough to finally put to bed the speculation that Santa Monica Studios would be moving away from Kratos in future games, an idea stoked by frankly misogynistic attitudes towards female leads in video games. Instead of focusing on the deeper implications of the story or a chance to flesh out a crucial character in Kratos and Atreus’ journey, an undue amount of attention was put towards a supposed trend to replace beloved male video game characters with women.Obviously, this is not a demonstrable practice in an industry where the overwhelming majority of protagonists are still men. It also ignores the seismic impact that Faye has on the Norse era GoW mythos — 2018’s God of War follows Kratos and his son on a journey to spread Faye’s ashes from the highest peak in the nine realms, but they eventually discover that Faye orchestrated their entire quest from beyond the grave to bring the two closer, expose Atreus to his true identity, and prepare them for an upcoming conflict with the Norse pantheon. Ragnarok takes this further by showing us glimpses of Faye and Kratos’ relationship before her death, while providing even more context on her history as a legendary warrior, diplomat, and strategist. Even though we’ve only seen her in death so far, Laufey has been as relevant a character to the current era’s story as her husband, and getting to play as her offers gamers a chance to fall in love with her the same way Kratos did.Kratos and Faye’s romance has been the driving force of the Norse era, and fans should open their hearts to it just like he did. | Sony Interactive EntertainmentThere’s also the fact that, regardless of the main character, God of War: Laufey is significantly expanding franchise lore. The game picks up with Faye in the afterlife, but not the one she expects: she’s sent to the Everywhen, a realm filled with gods from other pantheons (including Sekhmet and Begtse of Egyptian and Mongolian mythology, respectively). Having already switched gears from Greek to Norse mythology, the introduction of an afterlife for the gods and appearances from other cultural deities means the world of God of War is about to get even larger, which means conflict for not just Laufey, but Kratos too.As the reboot proved eight years ago, God of War can handle reinvention, and the new focus on Faye merely extends that fact. Although Kratos has long been the face of the series, a detour to focus on another crucial character isn’t a death sentence for gaming’s most popular Dad, and this recent announcement is proof that Santa Monica isn’t leaving the Ghost of Sparta behind. Laufey has all the potential to become just as interesting a character, and there’s plenty of room for both of them in the spotlight.