Do we like them?

Do we like Cory Barlog?

Our score: 6 out of 10. No harm found and a labour-friendly streak, but we couldn't open many pages, so the file is thinner than he probably deserves.

Cory Barlog is the name behind the modern God of War games and now sits at the top of Sony's Santa Monica Studio. Our page-opening tools were rate-limited on this run, so this column rests on search results rather than a deep read of full articles. Treat it as a fair first look, not the full dossier.

The latest news is the God of War Laufey spin-off, revealed at the June 2026 State of Play. Barlog sat down with the game's director afterwards and confirmed Kratos isn't going anywhere. It's a studio-news story, not a scandal, and nobody's cross with him over it.

On the harm check, nothing turned up. We found no harmful comments about LGBTQ+ people, women, migrants or the planet, no conspiracy rabbit holes, and no run of work with people who push that stuff. To be straight with you, the searches also didn't turn up much of him speaking up on those topics, so this is an absence of harm rather than a record of advocacy.

On how he treats people, the most useful find is from April 2020. Tom's Hardware Italia reported that he criticised Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford on Twitter after staff there said promised bonuses were being cut. Calling out a boss on behalf of workers in another company is the sort of thing that costs you nothing but a few awkward industry dinners, yet it counts.

We also found no lawsuits, court outcomes or misconduct allegations against him in our searches. Reports we couldn't open suggest he has been on the receiving end of online threats over game announcements, and abuse aimed at him doesn't count against him either way. Pending a fuller read, he comes out as a quiet pass.