I've seen a lot of public backlash to ruined franchises in my time, but this one has to be the most hilarious while also being incredibly infuriating.
Some of my readers will have played a series called "God of War" in the past. It revolves around a Spartan named Kratos who kills almost all of the Greek Pantheon during a revenge quest after the gods get him to mistakenly kill his own wife and daughter. The games were a typical hack-and-slash brawler that became so popular that Kratos was cemented as one of the most famous characters in all of gaming.
When 2018 rolled around, the developers behind the game decided to take a much more mature route with the character, making him into the father of a young boy named Atreus, this time set in the realm of the Norse gods. Kratos carries the weight of his deeds back in Greece with him, and the game covers his struggles to be a good father while coming to terms with his god-killing past. The game and the story were so good that even people who weren't fans of the original games became Kratos fans then and there.
Of course, woke culture struck it like it did everything, and God of War 2 ended up having woke elements within it, such as a black Angrboða that caused the fans to clap back. Despite this, the game sold relatively well, and Kratos remained a fan favorite. Moreover, the game capped off the Norse storyline for the most part... or so many people thought.
God of War fans wanted Kratos and Atreus to move on to the next pantheon of gods, with some hoping for Egyptian and others hoping for Celtic legends to be the next on the chopping block. However, Santa Monica Studios, the developer behind God of War, decided to go full-tilt into the wokeness they began injecting into God of War 2.
You won't play as Kratos or Atreus; you'll play as Kratos's dead wife, Laufey.
First look at gameplay for ‘GOD OF WAR: LAUFEY’.
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) June 2, 2026
Coming soon to PS5. pic.twitter.com/pb3fE8PvSW
The backlash to this announcement has been so massive that even Domino's Pizza bashed the announcement, something Santa Monica Studios did not take well.
ok thanks for the feedback, dominos pizza corporate account
— Santa Monica Studio – God of War Laufey (@SonySantaMonica) June 3, 2026
It needs to be understood that while people are bashing the game's female protagonist, including with hilarious names like "Broad of War" or "God of War: Laundry," it's been pretty well established that people don't hate female protagonists for being female protagonists. There have been plenty of games released in just the last couple of years that feature female protags that the public embraced and celebrated.
Read: Game of the Year - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
What people hate is the fact that Laufey is replacing Kratos, not because it's necessary to the story, and not because it's anything anyone asked for, but because Santa Monica Studios is simply trying to check an inclusivity box.
This is purely politics. Entertainment and giving fans what they actually want isn't a consideration. Santa Monica Studios wants to be seen making a girlboss game that replaces its masculine main character, turns her into a badass, and makes her the focus character. It's the same issue entertainment studios have been suffering from for almost a decade now. The reaction has never changed from the public, except to say that it's only gotten more certain in its frustration, and thus less caring about its offensiveness.
Gamers wanted the medium-rare dry-aged ribeye steak that was God of War, and what we got was effectively uncooked impossible meat. An artificial batch of nonsense posing as something we actually wanted.
When even other corporations are laughing at you publicly, you know you goofed. I expect this game to bomb as many of its kind do, and deservedly so. We're not here to be preached at or be forced to endure modern political elements in our escapism. We're here to have fun, hear a good story, and get away from the world. Constantly trying to force your world into our unwilling faces can only end in disaster.
