On a stage in San Diego, Cory Barlog finally delivered the confirmation fans have spent years waiting on: a new major God of War chapter is in development, with Kratos at the center of it.
Then came the catch.
Santa Monica showed up with two announcements, not one
The studio used San Diego Comic-Con 2026 to map out its plans, and the expected centerpiece was a release date for God of War Laufey. That was the announcement everybody had penciled in.
It wasn’t the news that mattered most.
Barlog — head of creative director at Santa Monica and the person responsible for 2018’s God of War — took the same appearance as an opportunity to officially confirm that the next major series entry is already in the works. The Kratos one. And, we’d assume, with Atreus alongside him.
You’re going to have to play Laufey
This is the detail that’ll divide people. According to Barlog, the Kratos game follows Laufey, and its story ties directly into what Laufey sets up.
In other words, sitting out the Faye game isn’t really on the table. Anyone who wants the next Kratos chapter to hit properly will need to have played the game that lays the groundwork.
Plenty of players won’t love hearing that. Others have treated Laufey as a side dish ever since it was unveiled, and this reframes the whole thing.
What Barlog said, word for word
He stayed light on specifics, which tells you something in itself. Still, he gave up this much:
“Everything we do in Faye’s game is a continuation of what came before, but also preparation and expansion for what follows. Everything inside the game is setting up something really amazing!”
That is the extent of the reveal. No release window, no platform details, no footage.
Read the room, not the roadmap
What Santa Monica has actually confirmed is that the game exists and where it sits in the release order. Beyond that, it’s blank space.
Here’s the confirmed picture: Laufey launches first, it has a date attached, and Barlog says it carries genuine narrative weight for whatever comes next. The Kratos game arrives afterward. Their connection is deliberate, not incidental.
That’s a studio telling you the appetizer is load-bearing.
Barlog offered nothing beyond that, and he didn’t need to. “Something really amazing,” coming from the person who rebuilt this franchise from the ground up in 2018, is a line fans will keep chewing over until the credits roll on Faye’s story.