Who Is Laufey in God of War
Laufey is Faye. Kratos and Atreus just called her Faye at home. The Giants knew her as Laufey. The people she went up against knew her as Laufey the Just. God of War 2018 starts with the funeral already over ashes in an urn, Kratos and Atreus standing over a pyre, one last wish left to carry out.
Source: Santa Monica Studio — Official Announcement / PlayStation
She went against Odin when most people bent the knee. She protected whoever the Aesir wanted dead and kept doing it until the Giants were nearly gone. The Leviathan Axe was hers first Brok and Sindri built it for Faye, not Kratos. She left it for him along with everything else she planned out before dying. The marked trees, the pyre, the specific peak where her ashes needed to go. Jötunheim was always the point. All of it led there.
Laufey’s Origins in Norse Mythology
In actual Norse texts, Laufey shows up mainly as a name. She is referenced as Loki’s mother and not much else. Loki is called Laufeyjarson in the old writings, meaning son of Laufey, but she never gets a real story of her own in the original mythology.
God of War took that name and built something completely different around it. Atreus turns out to be Loki, which makes Faye his mother in a way that mirrors the myth without copying it. The connection is there but the context is unrecognizable compared to the source material. A name with almost no story in the original texts became the backbone of two full games.
Source: Santa Monica Studio — Official Announcement / PlayStation
Why the Gods Were Afraid of Faye
Faye was a Giant at a time when Odin was hunting the Jötnar to extinction. That alone put her on a list. But she also kept fighting the Aesir long after most Giants had been killed or gone into hiding. People the gods wanted eliminated stayed alive because of her. That built a reputation that stretched across the Nine Realms and made her specifically dangerous rather than just another Giant to be dealt with.
The Golden Hand of the Jötnar made it worse for Odin. As shown in the God of War Laufey gameplay reveal, this hand channels Giant magic including the ability to manipulate souls. Odin’s fear of it comes up across both Norse games. Seeing it in Faye’s hands in the new game explains why she spent years hiding in a cabin with a fake name rather than using it openly.
How Did Faye Die in God of War
Nobody confirmed the cause. God of War 2018 does not explain it and God of War Ragnarök does not fill in the gap. What the flashbacks show is that she knew it was coming. She spoke openly to Kratos about mortality. She prepared the trees for her own cremation. She set up the entire journey Kratos and Atreus would take after she was gone, including where it would end.
Source: Santa Monica Studio — Official Announcement / PlayStation
Whether she chose to die, was killed, or accepted a prophecy she had already seen is still an open question. The new game may finally answer it.
Faye’s Role in the New God of War Laufey Game
The God of War Laufey game announced at State of Play June 2026 starts right after the funeral. Faye wakes up in the Everywhen, an afterlife realm where all magic collects and ancient gods still fight for dominance. She finds out Kratos and Atreus are in danger and picks up a sword from her companion Rue to do something about it.
The Golden Hand gives her magic. The combat is faster and more combo-heavy than the Kratos games. Faye is fully playable for the first time across any entry in the franchise. Not a memory referenced in dialogue, not a mural on a wall in Jötunheim. An actual lead character with her own weapons, her own powers, and her own story running alongside everything players already know from the first two games.
Final Thoughts
Faye has been the most important character in the God of War Norse saga without ever being alive in it. God of War Laufey exists because Santa Monica clearly had more story to tell about her than two games of background details could hold. The new game is the payoff on a setup that started the moment the 2018 game opened with a funeral.
More News: God of War Laufey: Release Date, Story, Gameplay and Everything We Know
