God of War Laufey pre-orders open September 29 ahead of its February 16, 2027 PS5 launch, with Santa Monica Studio revealing new details about Faye’s Serpent Bow, combat customisation and Digital Deluxe Edition.
Sony is opening pre-orders for God of War Laufey on September 29, giving PlayStation 5 players their first opportunity to secure the next mainline chapter in the God of War franchise ahead of its February 16, 2027 release.
The pre-order launch arrives alongside a substantial new information drop from Santa Monica Studio, which has detailed the game’s Digital Deluxe Edition, pre-order bonuses and several previously unexplained elements of Faye’s combat system. Most notably, players have now been given a closer look at the Serpent Bow, an enchanted weapon designed to transition rapidly between ranged attacks and close-quarters combinations.
Pre-orders are scheduled to begin at 10 AM local time on September 29, according to PlayStation’s official announcement. God of War Laufey is currently confirmed for PlayStation 5 and will launch on February 16, 2027.
The timing has created some confusion because reports circulating this week have presented February 16 as though Sony has only just revealed the release date. It has not. TalkEsport reported the February 16, 2027 release date in July, following Santa Monica Studio’s announcement at San Diego Comic-Con. The fresh development is the beginning of pre-orders alongside a considerably deeper look at Faye’s equipment and combat.
God of War Laufey pre-orders open September 29
Players who pre-order God of War Laufey before launch will receive the Last Wish Armor Set, a Phranque Golden Leaves Appearance and an in-game resource pack.
Sony notes that the in-game items will still need to be unlocked through story progression. Buyers choosing the physical Standard Edition will receive their pre-order bonuses through a download code, meaning an internet connection and PlayStation account will be required to redeem them.
The Digital Deluxe Edition expands that package with the Dark Alchemy Armor Set, Dark Alchemy Blade, Dark Alchemy Bow Scales and Dark Alchemy Catalyst, alongside another in-game resource pack. It also includes a digital mini artbook and the official God of War Laufey digital soundtrack.
TalkEsport has separately broken down the Standard and Digital Deluxe editions and their respective pre-order bonuses, including what players receive with each version and the current status of physical editions and pricing.
Faye’s Serpent Bow changes the rhythm of God of War combat
The considerably more interesting part of Sony’s latest reveal concerns how Faye will actually play. Santa Monica Studio has repeatedly made clear that it does not intend the protagonist to feel like Kratos with a different character model, and the newly detailed Serpent Bow demonstrates how significantly the studio is changing the familiar combat rhythm.
The Serpent Bow is an enchanted weapon capable of shifting rapidly from a dormant state into a fully notched bow, allowing Faye to weave arrow attacks into combinations without constantly separating ranged and melee combat into distinct phases.
The weapon has two principal aiming approaches. Fully pressing the aim trigger activates a precision-focused full-aim mode with greater accuracy and increased draw distance. Faye can target particular areas of an enemy’s body to impair its movement or offensive capabilities, potentially creating an opening for a subsequent melee attack.
While using full-aim, players can also charge the Serpent Bow and stack as many as five arrows into a single volley. Santa Monica specifically highlights the possibility of combining this with Phranque’s ability to launch enemies into the air, allowing Faye to continue attacks against airborne targets.
Half-pressing the trigger instead puts Faye into a more mobile hip-fire stance designed for close-range encounters. From there, she can rapidly release clusters of arrows and use the bow to juggle enemies while moving between different weapons and abilities.
Different arrows and Serpent Scales will change how the bow plays
The Serpent Bow is not restricted to a single projectile type either. Santa Monica says players will have access to different arrows supporting rapid fire, explosive detonations and multi-target attacks, giving the weapon different applications depending on how a player approaches combat.
The bow can additionally be equipped with different Serpent Scales. These modify both its appearance and the playstyle it specialises in through individual perks, with the Dark Alchemy Bow Scales included in the Digital Deluxe Edition providing one example of that customisation system.
Faye will also unlock additional skills for the Serpent Bow over the course of the game, suggesting that the weapon will develop considerably beyond the abilities demonstrated in Sony’s latest footage.
Who is Laufey, and why isn’t Kratos the protagonist?
Laufey is Faye, Kratos’ wife and Atreus’ mother, whose influence sits at the heart of the Norse God of War storyline despite her having already passed away before the events of 2018’s God of War begin.
The new game reverses that situation by placing Faye at the centre of the story. Following her funeral, she unexpectedly awakens in a realm known as the Everywhen, described by Santa Monica Studio as the afterlife of the gods and a place to which magic ultimately returns.
Faye discovers that the plans she left behind to protect Kratos and Atreus are in danger, forcing her to fight through a realm populated by gods and creatures drawn from different mythologies. The premise provides Santa Monica considerably more freedom than simply revisiting the Nine Realms and potentially opens the franchise towards pantheons beyond the Greek and Norse mythology that defined its previous eras.
According to Santa Monica Studio’s original God of War Laufey reveal, the Everywhen exists beyond the conventional afterlives of mortals and brings together gods and creatures from different mythologies. Sekhmet and Begtse are among the figures already revealed as inhabitants Faye will encounter there.
Faye has much more than the Serpent Bow
The Serpent Bow joins a broader combat system built specifically around Faye’s speed, mobility and ability to maintain momentum between attacks. Santa Monica describes her combat philosophy through three characteristics — speed, control and relentlessness — while combining elements of the modern God of War combat system with some of the fluidity associated with the franchise’s Greek era.
Players will be able to customise Faye’s armour to alter statistics, gameplay perks and appearance, while several pieces of equipment have their own modification systems. Her Blade can be customised separately, Serpent Scales modify the bow, and Catalysts function as magical artifacts capable of channeling the Everywhen’s power through different effects.
Faye also possesses abilities derived from her history as the Golden Hand of the Jötnar, the powerful protector of the Giants. Santa Monica previously demonstrated one of the stranger manifestations of those abilities, allowing Faye to strike an enemy with her golden palm hard enough to separate its soul from its body.
The detached soul then becomes another element of the encounter, with Faye able to attack it directly or knock it into other enemies to extend combinations. Together with her increased aerial mobility and new bow mechanics, those abilities indicate that Laufey is attempting a meaningful mechanical departure from playing as Kratos rather than simply placing a new protagonist inside his existing combat system.
Deborah Ann Woll returns as Faye
Deborah Ann Woll is reprising her role as Faye after portraying the character in God of War Ragnarök, but she will not be travelling through the Everywhen alone.
Phranque, voiced by Jack Quaid, is a cosmic cube described as fiercely protective of his friends and the creatures inhabiting the Everywhen. Rue, played by Perlina Lau, is an enchanted ribbon guardian connected to the powerful sword Faye eventually wields.
The unusual companions provide another indication that Santa Monica is not simply constructing another Kratos adventure around a replacement protagonist. Their abilities also appear to interact directly with Faye’s combat, with Phranque’s enemy-launching ability already being highlighted as something players can combine with charged Serpent Bow attacks.
God of War Laufey is a mainline game, not a smaller spin-off
Perhaps the most important point surrounding Laufey is its position within the franchise. Santa Monica Studio explicitly introduced it as the next mainline entry in the God of War series, meaning Faye’s adventure is being positioned as a full continuation of the franchise rather than a smaller side project built between Kratos-led releases.
That makes the decision to move Kratos out of the protagonist role particularly significant. Since the original God of War launched on PlayStation 2 in 2005, Kratos has been the character around whom the mainline series has been constructed, even as its setting and supporting cast changed dramatically.
Laufey temporarily changes that arrangement while retaining the family story established by the Norse games. Rather than simply retelling Faye’s life before meeting Kratos, the Everywhen premise allows the game to move her story forward after her death and potentially establish events that matter to the franchise’s future.
God of War Laufey release date and platform
God of War Laufey launches on February 16, 2027 and is currently confirmed for PlayStation 5. Sony’s official PlayStation Store listing already displays the February release date and allows players to add the game to their wishlist.
Pre-orders begin at 10 AM local time on September 29, 2026, with Standard and Digital Deluxe editions available. A physical Standard Edition has also been confirmed, although its bonus content will be delivered through a downloadable code.
The February release will arrive more than four years after God of War Ragnarök concluded the franchise’s Norse saga in November 2022, but Laufey appears designed to use the unanswered history surrounding Faye to move the wider mythology forward rather than simply filling in events from the past.
By placing Faye in an afterlife where gods from different mythologies can coexist, Santa Monica has also created a narrative route into territory the franchise has spent years teasing. The question surrounding the next chapter is therefore no longer simply where Kratos travels after the Norse saga, but how much larger the mythology surrounding his family may become once God of War Laufey arrives in February.
