Mick Gordon will not create music for Doom Eternal DLC

Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal composer Mick Gordon will not be returning to create the music for Doom Eternal’s DLC after a recent controversy surrounding the base game’s OST. 

After the mixing of the game’s OST brought the ire of Doom Eternal’s fans, executive producer Marty Stratton took to Reddit with a long explanation as to why the game’s Mick Gordon soundtrack wasn’t to the quality fans would’ve wanted.

“Over the past couple weeks, I’ve seen lots of discussion centered around the release of the DOOM Eternal Original Game Soundtrack (OST),” Stratton explains. “While many fans like the OST, there is speculation and criticism around the fact that the game’s talented and popular composer, Mick Gordon, edited and ‘mixed’ only 12 of the 59 tracks on the OST – the remainder being edited by our Lead Audio Designer here at id.”

“Some have suggested that we’ve been careless with or disrespectful of the game music. Others have speculated that Mick wasn’t given the time or creative freedom to deliver something different or better. The fact is – none of that is true.”

The executive producer explained that Gordon was only under contract to create and mix Doom Eternal’s OST after the announcement of its inclusion in the Collector’s Edition. While he was brought in to create twelve tracks by March back in January, Gordon asked for more time in exchange of delivering “upwards of 30 tracks and a run-time over two hours – including all music from the game, arranged in soundtrack format.” That deadline was missed.

“Not only were we disappointed to not deliver the OST with the launch of the CE, we needed to be mindful of consumer protection laws in many countries that allow customers to demand a full refund for a product if a product is not delivered on or about its announced availability date,” Stratton says. “Even with that, the mid-April delivery would allow us to meet our commitments to customers while also allowing Mick the time he had ideally requested.”

Stratton revealed that the final version of the soundtrack was eventually mixed by lead audio designer Chad Mossholder which was initially created as a backup plan. The team asked Gordon to deliver the tracks he’d completed by the time of the deadline and combined them with Mossholder’s mix.

After the controversy, including Mick Gordon explaining that he doubts he’ll work with id Software again, Stratton confirmed that the upcoming Doom Eternal DLC will not include a new OST from the artist.

I commented about it yesterday. I turned I’d break the news here. This is a dark day for our beloved franchise
byu/MedicalMilk inDoom

“[We are] moving on and won’t be working with Mick on the DLC we currently have in production,”says the producer. “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… Our team has enjoyed this creative collaboration a great deal and we know Mick will continue to delight fans for many years ahead.”