Who is making God of War: Laufey? The studio and creative team

Updated Info updated 2026-06-03 · 4 min read

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Quick Answer

God of War: Laufey is being made by SIE Santa Monica Studio. Cory Barlog has stepped into a new role as Head of Creative for the series, while Ariel Lawrence is the game director of this entry.

The studio

Laufey is developed by SIE Santa Monica Studio — the same first-party PlayStation team behind God of War (2018) and Ragnarök — and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It's the next mainline entry in the series, not a spin-off handed to another studio.

Cory Barlog's new role

Cory Barlog — director of God of War (2018) and creative director on Ragnarök — is now Head of Creative, a new position overseeing the long-term vision of the franchise rather than directing a single game day-to-day. He's the one who framed Laufey as “not a prequel… a continuation of the timeline right at the beginning of God of War 2018”.

Ariel Lawrence, game director

The game director on Laufey is Ariel Lawrence, who has worked alongside Barlog for more than two decades. Lawrence explained the decision to centre Faye: the studio will always tell Kratos's story, but this time wanted to tell the story of someone so pivotal to where the modern saga began. Communications director Grace Orlady authored the official PlayStation Blog reveal that most confirmed details trace back to.

Not yet confirmed

A narrative director / lead writer appeared in the “Introducing Faye” video but hasn't been named publicly, and reports of specific additional writers joining the team remain unverified. We'll update this page as the studio confirms more of the credits.

Quick facts

Developer
SMS
Santa Monica Studio
Publisher
SIE
Sony Interactive
Head of Creative
C. Barlog
series vision
Game director
A. Lawrence
this entry

FAQ

Sources

Who’s Making It — The Team - God of War: Laufey