Original God of War Creator Defends Laufey's Creative Director From Harassment After His Critical Remarks Go Viral
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...