Updated 29 September 2026, 19:00
Santa Monica Studio and PlayStation have nailed down the calendar for their next big single-player game. God of War Laufey releases on February 16, 2027, and pre-orders go live on September 29, 2026 at 10am local time for both the Standard and the Digital Deluxe Edition. Sony also laid out what sits in each edition – the only thing still missing is the price tag, because neither version has an announced retail price yet.
What’s confirmed is that every pre-purchase made before launch day comes with a bundle of free in-game extras, so there’s no time-limited window to sweat over beyond release itself.
What God of War Laufey actually is
The game was revealed during Sony’s June 2026 State of Play and it’s the next mainline entry in Santa Monica Studio’s rebooted God of War series. The big twist is who you play: instead of Kratos, you take control of Laufey, the Jotnar warrior who died before the events of God of War 2018. The setting is the Everywhen, a mysterious afterlife where the Egyptian and Mongolian gods of war are tearing everything apart. If you want to follow every announcement from here on out, we gather it all in our God of War news section.
Combat: the new Serpent Bow
Alongside the release date, Santa Monica Studio detailed a brand-new weapon – the Serpent Bow. It has two firing modes you swap between using the DualSense adaptive triggers:
- Precision – you aim at specific body parts on an enemy and can loose up to five arrows at once.
- Hip-Fire – you shoot mid-combo to stagger and stun enemies without breaking your melee flow.
You’ll also have several arrow types to pick from: rapid-fire, explosive and multi-purpose. The bow itself can be customized with a resource called Scales, which changes both its look and how it plays.
Faye’s sword, Catalysts and armor
The bow isn’t the only thing you’ll be tinkering with. Faye’s sword takes swappable Blades that alter its appearance and stats, and you’ll collect artifacts called Catalysts that grant her special abilities. On top of that you can equip different armor sets, each with its own look and stat spread – so builds look like they’ll matter here.
Pre-order bonuses
- Last Wish armor set
- Phranque Golden Leaves appearance
- In-game Resource Pack
The Last Wish armor set visually nods to the Guiding Light armor Kratos wore in God of War Ragnarok. Worth knowing before you commit: the set can also be unlocked through normal story progression, so pre-ordering simply hands it to you right away instead of locking it behind the purchase. The same goes for Phranque Golden Leaves, a special look for the cube voiced by Jack Quaid. The Resource Pack’s exact contents haven’t been listed, but it will most likely front-load you with upgrade materials in the early hours.
Digital Deluxe Edition contents
- Dark Alchemy Armor Set
- Dark Alchemy Blade
- Dark Alchemy Bow Scales
- Dark Alchemy Catalyst
- In-Game Resource Pack
- Digital Mini Artbook
- Official God of War Laufey Digital Soundtrack
The Deluxe Edition gives you instant access to a full Dark Alchemy-themed loadout: armor, a sword Blade, Bow Scales and a Catalyst artifact whose special effect hasn’t been revealed yet. Just like the pre-order gear, the whole Dark Alchemy set can be earned through story progression. That leaves the digital mini artbook and the digital soundtrack as the only genuinely exclusive items in the Deluxe Edition – everything else is a head start, not extra content.
Familiar territory for the series
This mirrors how Santa Monica handled its last two mainline releases. The God of War 2018 Deluxe Edition bundled special armor for Kratos and Atreus, a shield skin, a PS4 dynamic theme, a digital artbook and a tie-in comic. God of War Ragnarok’s Digital Deluxe Edition did much the same, with skins for Kratos and Atreus, handles for the Blades of Chaos and the Leviathan Axe, plus a digital soundtrack and artbook.
What this means for you
If you were worried about missing out on gear, you’re not. Both the pre-order and Deluxe cosmetics are obtainable in-game, so the decision boils down to whether early access to those looks, the Resource Pack and the artbook plus soundtrack are worth the Deluxe premium once pricing lands. The full breakdown went up on the PlayStation Blog, and the game already has its own PlayStation Store page.
FAQ
Pre-orders go live on September 29, 2026 at 10am local time for both the Standard and the Digital Deluxe Edition.
The game launches on February 16, 2027.
The Last Wish armor set, the Phranque Golden Leaves appearance for the cube voiced by Jack Quaid, and an in-game Resource Pack.
Only the digital mini artbook and the official digital soundtrack. The full Dark Alchemy set – armor, Blade, Bow Scales and Catalyst – can also be unlocked through story progression.
It has two firing modes controlled by the DualSense adaptive triggers. Precision lets you target specific body parts and fire up to five arrows at once, while Hip-Fire lets you shoot mid-combo and stun enemies. You can also choose between rapid-fire, explosive and multi-purpose arrows, and customize the bow with Scales.
Sony hasn’t announced pricing for the Standard or Digital Deluxe Edition yet.