God of War Laufey will explore Odin's age-old question: What happens to gods when they die?

Sony Santa Monica is making a new God of War game, but it doesn't star Kratos; instead, his wife Laufey, and the developers share more details about the game including an esoteric setting for Laufey.

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Yesterday, Sony announced God of War Laufey, a direct continuation to the events of God of War 2018. The new God of War game features Kratos' wife Laufey as the main protagonist and is being directed by longtime Sony Santa Monica developer Ariel Lawrence, who shared some insights on the game in a recent interview with studio head Cory Barlog.

The game is set in the colorful and exotic afterlife of the gods, Lawrence confirms, offering the studio tons of unique opportunities for chaotic clashes of heroes, legends, and mythologies interwoven with quirky humor--the game features a talking gelatinous cube with an enchanted sword stuck in it, Excalibur-style. The result is an expression of the franchise that's quite unique.

Lawrence also talked about the game's setting, confirming it takes place in a kind of ethereal afterlife with eldritch magic:

"Fey finds herself in the afterlife of the gods. This is the birthplace and the ending point of where all magic returns--all magic," Lawrence said.

"The amazing thing about that is two-fold. We get all sorts of magic, a highly-heightened magical world to play in, but we also get the return and the discovery of a lot of different mythologies coming together, and what happens when those mythologies kind of meet up and be able to encompass and throw our arms around different mythologies has been very exciting.

"I think in Ragnarok, Odin really was taken by that question--what happens to gods when they die? We know what happens to mortals when they die, but what happens to gods? This is an answer to that question."

The game director goes on to say there's trouble in paradise, which is pretty evident in the gameplay trailer:

"Things aren't working quite the way they should be in this afterlife of the gods, and magic isn't flowing exactly as it should be. This afterlife is not exactly a paradise, it's a little bit more of a prison. The folks who are in charge there, who you'll meet in the reveal video, they've taken over things, and as two respective gods of war, they have their own way of doing things. It's more violent.

"This place is beautiful, it's magical...but it's very dangerous."

This isn't the end for Kratos, of course. The studio also confirms that it has more ideas for new God of War games starring the gaming icon:

"Kratos is the God of War - we have many more stories to tell with him. For now, we're excited to take fans on a journey into the afterlife of the gods with Faye and hope you'll come along for the ride!"