God of War Laufey Story & Plot — Is It a Prequel? (Explained)

Last updated: 2026-06-03

Faye is dead — that part hasn’t changed. God of War Laufey picks up the exact moment her body burns on the funeral pyre at the start of 2018’s God of War, and follows what happens to her next.

She wakes up. Not in any Norse afterlife she’d expect, but in the Everywhen — a strange land where gods from every mythology fight over power and dangerous magic. And the plans she made to protect Kratos and Atreus before she died? They’re already falling apart.

So the whole game is one question: how does a dead woman get back to the family she left behind?

Is God of War Laufey a prequel?

No. It’s a continuation of the timeline, not a prequel. — Cory Barlog, Head of Creative, Santa Monica Studio

This is the single most-searched question about the game, and the studio answered it directly. Despite the rumors, God of War Laufey is not a prequel and not a spin-off. Here’s how the four labels people throw around actually shake out:

• Prequel? No. It doesn’t go back before 2018 — it starts during the opening of 2018.
• Spin-off? No. Press confirmed it’s a mainline series entry, not a side story.
• Parallel sequel? Closest, but the studio’s own word is continuation. It runs alongside Kratos’ journey, branching off the moment Faye dies.
• Mainline God of War? Yes. New protagonist, same canon.

As Barlog put it, the game answers a question fans have had since 2018: “This is what happened to Faye after that funeral.”

The story so far

The demo Santa Monica showed at State of Play lays out the opening beats. These are confirmed:

• Faye — true name Laufey, a frost giant of Jötunheim — wakes in a mysterious forest right after her cremation.
• She quickly learns that waking from death is impossible, and that leaving the Everywhen may be even harder while the natural flow of magic is broken.
• The plans she set up to protect Kratos and Atreus are now at risk, which is what drives her to escape and return.
• To get out, she has to fight through the afterlife of the gods, where ruthless gods from across mythology vie for power.
• Early on she encounters two hostile gods — Sekhmet (Egyptian) and Begtse (Tibetan-Buddhist / Mongolian) — neither friendly to a new face.

How Laufey connects to 2018 and Ragnarök

If you’ve played the Norse saga, you already know more of this story than you think. Faye was the heart of it without ever being on screen alive.

• God of War (2018): You only ever see Faye as a corpse — but her wishes drive the entire journey to scatter her ashes. Laufey begins at that funeral.
• God of War Ragnarök: Faye returns in dream sequences, voiced and seen. Deborah Ann Woll, who played her there, reprises the role as the lead of Laufey.
• The Leviathan Axe you wielded as Kratos? It was forged for Faye first. She’s no stranger to legendary weapons.

For who Faye is, her Jötun heritage, and her title “Laufey the Just,” see the Faye (Laufey) character guide. For the realm she’s trapped in, see the Everywhen.