Doom Eternal: The dispute between id Software and composer Mick Gordon continues to escalate

The dispute between id Software and composer Mick Gordon over the Doom Eternal soundtrack has reached the next level of escalation.

It all goes back to 2020. At that time, Gordon had distanced himself from the soundtrack album, both sides then went their separate ways.

What happened?

It’s about the soundtrack that was supposed to be part of the Collector’s Edition and promised “lossless” and “uncompressed” audio files with music by Mick Gordon. Upon release, it turned out that only 11 of the 59 tracks were by Gordon himself.

id Software’s Studio Director then released a statement, stating that Gordon first moved the soundtrack and then delivered it in a poorer quality. As a result, id Software was forced to have the remaining tracks created by the lead audio designer.

More on the subject:

Now Gordon has it on his own medium side released an extremely detailed, around 14,000-word statement on the situation, documenting the entire process of his work on Doom Eternal.

A difficult project

In it he accused Stratton of lying, among other things, that he is said to have offered Gordon a six-figure sum if he remained silent on the matter.

He describes Doom Eternal as a “tough project” that required him to deliver music for two levels a month while most of the game didn’t exist yet.

It was only after eight months that he was paid for the first time and then only after another eleven months. In the end, they used four hours and 46 minutes of his music but only paid for two hours and 22 minutes, he claims.

The soundtrack album was again different from the in-game music and there were problems with that too. At first there was talk of a flexible deadline for twelve songs, but 13 days before this deadline expired, it was suddenly emphasized that it was imperative to meet it. That in turn made him work 18 to 20 hours a day to get it done on time.

Hush money instead of cooperation

Later, although he had previously agreed on a joint statement with Stratton, his open letter on Reddit followed, in which he blamed Gordon for the poor quality of the soundtrack.

“Marty told me to do the draft [der gemeinsamen Erklärung] expected within hours, but it never arrived,” writes Gordon. “Instead, days later, he posted a more than 2,500-word ‘open letter’ on a fan-run Reddit page, citing me as the sole reason for the botch OST made out.”

“The post drew thousands of comments and articles and severely damaged my personal and professional reputation. Worst of all, he did this behind my back while trolling me with a bullshit story about collaborating on a professional solution to the issue at the nose around.”

“His testimony was full of lies, disinformation and innuendos, and when I challenged it, his company offered me a six-figure sum to keep my mouth shut. As I kept trying to settle the matter amid a barrage of abuse, harassment and threats he consistently refused to settle, worried that addressing the Reddit post would damage his own reputation.

“But as far as I’m concerned, truth and honesty are more important to me: Marty’s words damaged my character and attacked my reputation,” he says. “I have given him ample opportunities to speak out on the matter, but his refusal to do so has left me no choice but to make this statement. By making this statement, I am exercising my right to defend myself.”

And the above is all just a small part of what Gordon id Software and Stratton accuses. It’s worth taking a look at his statement.