Doom Eternal Soundtrack: Composer Mick Gordon Raises Serious Allegations – News

Released at the end of March 2020 Doom Eternal by id Software after a postponement of several months, but was received positively all round, including in the test on GamersGlobal. However, the soundtrack, which was released a month later, was controversial. In the credits was next to the composer Mike Gordon also id Software’s Lead Audio Designer Chad Mossholder called and many of the tracks did not meet the standard of a specially mixed soundtrack. Even then, Mick Gordon was negative about the quality of the soundtrack. A few weeks later, the studio director of the Texas studio wrote, Marty Strattona long post on Reddit, who described the problems during the development of the game and the creation of the soundtrack from his point of view. In it he accuses the composer of delivering music late and irregularly, which meant further risks for the development of the game. There are said to have been similar problems with the creation of the official soundtrack, for which Gordon repeatedly requested more time. This was granted to him without reducing the agreed bonus payments. Shortly after the soundtrack was released, there was a public break between the studio and the Australian composer, who not only no longer wanted to work with id Software, but also with its parent company Bethesda. Otherwise, he held back with public statements. Until now.

In a long post on medium describes Gordon’s view of things and raises serious allegations against the management of id Software, Bethesda and especially Marty Stratton. Many of his statements are in direct contrast to those of the studio director in his post. There is talk of unrealistic demands, extremely tight deadlines and budgets, the lack of payment for music that was first rejected and then used in the game and the announcement of the soundtrack as part of the Collectors Edition without even informing the composer about it, but still use his name. In addition, pre-orders were accepted directly, which also meant that the game had to be delivered promptly in order not to violate consumer protection rights, which could have resulted in severe penalties for the group. This reason was only communicated to the composer very late, a contract for the creation of the soundtrack only came about when he bypassed those responsible at id Software and turned directly to Bethesda.

The composer describes further events after the release, where disappointed fans found out his personal data in order to downright terrorize his family and him in various ways via various channels, including the death and rape threats, which unfortunately are now widespread on the Internet. But he also reports on Stratton’s attempts to come to an agreement with Gordon to produce a mutually satisfactory soundtrack, also to smooth the waves in the community. But these only led to the already mentioned post on Reddit. Gordon consistently describes its content as a lie and an attempt to make him a scapegoat. Further talks between the composer and Bethesda, some of which were also conducted through lawyers, came to nothing and were further delayed by Microsoft’s takeover of Bethesda.

After months of being put off, he decided to write the detailed report from his point of view, which he presents as a defensive action, provoked by the unilateral claims in favor of id Software and Stratton, which he considered untenable, and the missing, promised actions on the part of the client. Gordon backs up his statements and arguments with numerous screenshots from e-mails and chat histories (censored to protect personal rights). A public response from id Software, Bethesda or Microsoft is pending at this time.