Following the release of DOOM Eternal, fans began to notice that the music was not exactly up to par with what many were expecting from composer Mick Gordon. This then led to a ton of backlash aimed at id Software, especially when Gordon confirmed that it was not him who mixed the tracks. That said, it has now been confirmed by id that they have parted ways with Gordon.

Marty Stratton, executive producer of DOOM Eternal, recently took to the title’s subreddit to detail the separation between id and Mick Gordon. He noted how many have speculated about the possibility that Gordon wasn’t given the “creative freedom to deliver something different or better.” However, Stratton confirms that this is simply not true.

The DOOM Eternal executive producer then went on to say how he was surprised when Gordon mentioned he didn’t see them working together anymore, but the response did “highlight a complicated relationship.” Stratton mentions how Gordon had “near limitless creative autonomy” over the mixing and composing of the music in recent DOOM titles, but it came down to communication and “production-related realities of development” that ultimately led to them parting ways.

According to Stratton, Gordon was not under contract when they said the OST would be part of the DOOM Eternal Collector’s Edition at E3 2019, but after talks in January, they agreed to set delivery for early March. In late February, Gordon asked for an extension, which id accommodated. This then led to id announcing the OST would be slightly delayed for Collector’s Edition owners. However, when the six-week extension came to an end, id grew concerned that Gordon would not be able to meet the deadline, which led to them having their lead audio designer start working on their own versions of the tracks from the pieces that Gordon had sent over. 

Gordon had agreed to deliver no less than 12 tracks, but only initially delivered 9 after running into some issues, with two more trailing in after the deadline. Stratton noted how the majority of these tracks would not “meet the expectations of DOOM or Mick fans,” and that only one of them was the “heavy-combat music” fans would expect to hear in DOOM Eternal. Gordon then told Stratton that the remaining tracks he was working on were that type of music, but recommended that the tracks created by the lead audio designer be used to expand the OST. This is what ended up happening, which led to the backlash when fans started looking at the waveforms. 

“As for the immediate future, we are at the point of moving on and won’t be working with Mick on the DLC we currently have in production,” Stratton continued. “As I’ve mentioned, his music is incredible, he is a rare talent, and I hope he wins many awards for his contribution to DOOM Eternal at the end of the year.”

Needless to say, this has been a sticky situation for everyone involved, but it looks like we simply won’t be hearing Gordon’s music in id’s games anymore. For the full story, Stratton’s lengthy post can be found right here. In the meantime, DOOM Eternal is available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, with a Nintendo Switch version arriving at a later date. Keep it tuned to Don’t Feed the Gamers as this story develops, and for other gaming goodness going on right now, check out the following:

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What say you, gamers? Are you surprised by these events involving the DOOM Eternal devs and Mick Gordon? Sound off in the comments section below, and be sure to follow DFTG on Twitter for live gaming and entertainment news 24/7!

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