Bethesda Fires Back At Doom Eternal Composer's Mistreatment Allegations
The ongoing conflict between Mick Gordon and Bethesda continues to heat up. The conflict began in 2020 when Bethesda released the original game soundtrack (OST) for "Doom Eternal" to disappointing reviews. It was quickly revealed that successful composer Mick Gordon, who had created the music for the game, had not been involved in mixing most of the music for the OST despite his name being attached to it (per VG247). The backlash prompted Marty Stratton, an executive producer at id Software (which developed "Doom Eternal" and is owned by Bethesda), to post an open letter to Reddit offering an explanation for the situation.
The letter laid the blame at the feet of Gordon, claiming that he mismanaged his time on the project and suggested adding music by id's Lead Audio Designer Chad Mossholder. More recently, Gordon fired back at id Software with his own letter on Medium.
In his letter, Gordon stated that it was id Software, and Stratton in particular, that mismanaged the project by failing to keep him informed, miscommunicating, holding up contracts, and generally being abusive and hostile towards him. Gordon included screenshots of various emails to support his case and asserted that he had been offered a six-figure settlement to keep quiet about the incident and take the blame.
Now, Bethesda has a statement of its own. Posted to Twitter, the developer and publisher stand behind id Software, Stratton, and Mossholder, rejecting Gordon's account of events.
Bethesda rejects Gordon's account of events
In the short message, Bethesda claims that "Mick Gordon both mischaracterized and misrepresented the team at id Software, the development of 'Doom Eternal,' Marty Stratton, and Chad Mossholder with a one-sided and unjust account of an irreparable professional relationship." It does not reference or refute any specific claims made by Gordon but does claim to have evidence that his account is not the entire truth.
The statement further addresses abuse and threats Stratton, Mossholder, and the id team has received since this controversy began and promised that Bethesda would take action to protect them. However, it closes by asking that fans not jump to conclusions yet and refrain "from attacking any of the individuals mentioned on either side."
As of writing, Bethesda has not released any other statements or provided more information, and Gordon does not appear to have responded to this latest development. His most recent tweet also asked fans to respect the development team and their hard work and not to harass them in any way.