Cory Barlog

American video game developer

Cory Barlog

Barlog in June 2019

Born|  (1975-09-02) September 2, 1975 (age 49)
Occupations|

* Video game designer
* director
* writer

Years active| 2000–present
Known for| God of War series

Cory Barlog (born September 2, 1975) is an American video game designer, director, and writer who is the current creative director of video game development at Santa Monica Studio. He is best known for his work on the God of War series.

## Early life

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Barlog was born on September 2, 1975,[1][2] the son of fantasy novelist J. M. Barlog.[3]

## Career

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In his early career, Barlog worked as a lead animator at Paradox Development on Backyard Wrestling: Don't Try This at Home and X-Men: Next Dimension. After joining Santa Monica Studio, he was the lead animator for God of War (2005) and directed God of War II (2007), for which he won a BAFTA for his writing work on the game. He also served as game director of God of War III (2010) for the first eight months of its development.[4] Although not part of Sony at the time, he helped in writing God of War: Ghost of Sparta (2010).

Barlog was a keynote speaker at ECAROcon 2008, and later worked at LucasArts. In an interview, he announced that he was working on a tie-in video game for the 2015 film Mad Max: Fury Road. He was reported to be in Sweden to develop the title with Avalanche Studios, best known for Just Cause. Despite various gaming websites confirming that the game was in development over the coming years, Barlog had left Avalanche Studios early in its development and the game never materialized.

In March 2012, it was announced that Barlog had joined Crystal Dynamics to direct the cinematics for the new Tomb Raider game and direct an unannounced game.[5][6] However, he left the company in April 2013.[7]

In August 2013, it was announced that Barlog would return to Santa Monica Studio.[8] He is the studio's creative director and directed God of War (2018). For the game, he won awards for Best Game Direction and Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2018,[9] Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction and Game of the Year at the 22nd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards,[10] and the BAFTA Games Award for Best Game. He also wrote the foreword to the novelization of the game, which was written by his father. He also produced the sequel God of War Ragnarök (2022).[11]

## Games

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Year  | Game  | Role  | Studio

|
|
|

1999  | Requiem: Avenging Angel | Artist  | Cyclone Studios
2000  | Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots Arena | Animator  | Paradox Development
2002  | X-Men: Next Dimension | Lead animator  | Paradox Development
2003  | Backyard Wrestling: Don't Try This at Home | Lead animator  | Paradox Development
2005  | God of War | Lead animator  | Santa Monica Studio
2007  | God of War II | Game director, story writer  | Santa Monica Studio
2008  | God of War: Chains of Olympus | Story writer  | Santa Monica Studio
2010  | God of War III | Initial design, story layout  | Santa Monica Studio
2010  | God of War: Ghost of Sparta | Story writer  | Santa Monica Studio
2013  | Tomb Raider | Cinematics director  | Crystal Dynamics
2018  | God of War | Game director, story writer  | Santa Monica Studio
2022  | God of War Ragnarök | Creative director, producer  | Santa Monica Studio

## References

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1. ^ Barlog, Cory [@corybarlog] (September 2, 2022). "another lap around the sun for us both, huh Keanu?" (Tweet). Archived from the original on September 2, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2024 - via Twitter.
2. ^ Barlog, Cory [@corybarlog] (July 30, 2022). "Im 46, been making games for 24 years" (Tweet). Archived from the original on July 31, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2024 - via Twitter.
3. ^ "Home". jmbarlog.com.
4. ^ "God of War III officially PS3-bound". Gamespot. 2007-11-06. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
5. ^ "Ex-God of War director joins Tomb Raider developer". Retrieved 2012-03-02.
6. ^ "Cory Barlog joins Crystal Dynamics to work on Tomb Raider and unannounced game". Polygon. March 2, 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
7. ^ "LinkedIn profile".
8. ^ "Cory Barlog Returns to Sony Santa Monica Studio". PlayStation.Blog. 2013-08-09. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
9. ^ Gach, Ethan (7 December 2018). "God of War Wins Game Of The Year At The 2018 Game Awards". Kotaku. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
10. ^ "D.I.C.E. Awards By Video Game Details God of War". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
11. ^ "Hermen Hulst Q&A: What's Next for PlayStation Studios". PlayStation.Blog. 2021-06-02. Retrieved 2021-06-02.

## External links

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* Cory Barlog blog
* MobyGames profile
* Cory Barlog interview with Mega 64

Portals:

* Video games
* United States

* v
* t
* e

Santa Monica Studio

Video games|

| God of War|

* God of War
* II
* III
* Ascension
* God of War (2018)
* Ragnarök

|

Other games|

* Kinetica

People|

* Cory Barlog
* David Jaffe
* Stig Asmussen

Related|

* PlayStation Studios
* Sony Interactive Entertainment

Category

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* United States

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