Clarifying Viral Remarks

David Jaffe, the creator, co-writer, and director for the original God of War game, has cleared up his viral comments about Ariel Lawrence, creative director for Laufey.

Ariel Lawrence has been with the God of War franchise since its very first game — but creator David Jaffe, who left the series behind in 2007 to form his own studio, says he never got along with her during his time at Santa Monica Studio.

He described their contentious work relationship in a September 2026 live stream while reacting to footage for God of War Laufey, where he claimed their personalities clashed and that he didn’t feel as though she was truly passionate about the games they were making.

“I have no problem with female directors at all,” he began. “This woman started as an assistant producer back when we were making the first God of War. Her and I never got along. She thought I was kind of obnoxious and I thought she was pretentious. She didn’t put the audience first.

“People that I didn’t get along with on God of War were people, in my opinion, who were more about, ‘I wanna do well in the corporate world… I want to play the game,’ versus, ‘I’m here with a vision and I will f**kin’ fight you for that vision.’ There was a lack of passion I felt from her, and she was also kind of a judgy asshole, to me.”

Jaffe also criticized Cory Barlog for making Laufey in the first place — which he called a “stupid” game — and asked why he couldn’t “sit Ariel down and say, ‘This isn’t ready.’”

— Ahmadkb (@ahmad_kb) September 29, 2026

Addressing Online Harassment

Jaffe’s comments unsurprisingly went viral, sparking a debate within the God of War fanbase and the broader gaming community in general. Not long afterward, Jaffe took to social media to expound upon his remarks, where he called out those using his statement to harass Lawrence online.

“Look, I personally didn't like Ariel and I don't THINK she cared much for me back when we worked together. Oil and Water, just very different types of people. And honestly, she was probably more liked on the team than I was. You see, if you haven't noticed, I can be ‘a lot,’” he wrote.

“And so in this video, I was responding/sharing that aspect of our time working together. That's the only way I would ever talk about former colleagues, be it good or bad experiences. For people to use my experience with Ariel as an excuse/launching pad to make personal attacks on her is just low and s**tty.

"She's a real person — just like you — with a life and feelings and people who care for her and who love her, and it just seems really f**king cruel to do that.

Look, I personally didn't like Ariel and I don't THINK she cared much for me back when we worked together. Oil and Water, just very different types of people. And honestly, she was probably more liked on the team than I was. You see, if you haven't noticed, I can be, as my… https://t.co/kw0g4JGnMf— David Jaffe (@davidscottjaffe) September 29, 2026

Wider Industry Context

Laufey has, unfortunately, been a target for the online rage machine, and Jaffe's remarks added more fuel to the fire. Trolls’ remarks about appearance and their outrage over the fact that a woman is leading a God of War game totally overwhelmed gaming circles on social media when it was first revealed in June.

Other games have since taken the brunt of the internet’s apparent scrutiny, as evidenced by debates surrounding various major AAA titles. Still, Laufey has continued to catch criticism, with other high-profile industry figures occasionally weighing in on modern game development.

God of War Laufey releases on February 16, 2027, exclusively for PlayStation 5.