The W's

Lore & Background

In the criminal hierarchy of Stilwater, The W's carved out a reputation as a gang that refused to be an afterthought. While the Los Gallos leaned on numbers and the Ronin on discipline, The W's built their power through a tight-knit, all-female operation that ran its own rackets, collected its own debts, and answered to no one outside its own ranks. Their territory in the city was a patchwork of clubs, warehouses, and street corners where their presence was felt as much through intimidation as through sheer volume of members.

Their rivalry with the 3rd Street Saints is a minor but memorable conflict in the original game's campaign. As the player's Saints expand their influence, The W's are encountered in a few missions, but they are not a faction that must be systematically dismantled territory by territory. The confrontations follow the franchise's signature blend of absurd set-pieces and straightforward gang warfare, with The W's putting up a fight that is as colorful and over-the-top as any other encounter in Stilwater.

The W's do not return in Saints Row 2 (2008), as their role is confined to the original game. Their limited presence underscores a core theme of the series: Stilwater is full of minor players who add flavor to the city's underworld without being central to the Saints' rise to power.

Reader's Guide

FACTION DOSSIER: THE W'S

Games: Saints Row (2006), Saints Row 2 (2008).

Role in the Saints' rise: The W's are one of the four rival gangs the 3rd Street Saints must defeat to claim Stilwater. They operate as a self-sufficient criminal outfit—running their own territory, collecting their own protection money, and fielding their own muscle. In the campaign structure, they represent a distinct wave of opposition: not the brute-force numbers of the Los Gallos, not the disciplined strikes of the Ronin, but a gang that fights with a cohesion and swagger that makes them feel like a genuinely different flavor of threat.

Key relationships: Their primary antagonism is with the 3rd Street Saints, the player's faction. They also exist in the broader Stilwater power dynamic alongside the Los Gallos and the Ronin, meaning the player is often juggling multiple rivalries simultaneously. The W's do not ally with any other gang; they are their own operation.

Signature moments: Their turf battles follow the franchise's formula of escalating set-pieces—vehicle chases, brawls in their home territory, and the eventual takedown of their operations. The tone throughout is irreverent: the W's are as over-the-top and unapologetic as the Saints themselves, making their confrontations feel like a rivalry between equals rather than a boss fight.

Visual and voice notes: The W's are visually distinct from the other gangs, with a color palette and wardrobe that set them apart in the crowded Stilwater streetscape. Their members present as a unified front—coordinated, confident, and unbothered by the absurdity of the world they operate in. They talk like they own the block, because in their territory, they do.