Earlier this month, after two years of silence, former Doom composer, Mick Gordon, spoke out against id Software for the way the Doom Eternal soundtrack was handled and managed. The Doom Eternal soundtrack did not meet quality expectations, leading to a number of disappointed fans. In a 2020 Reddit post, id Software's Marty Stratton placed the blame on Gordon, and now Bethesda has released a statement of its own, saying it stands behind Stratton and the id Software team.
According to Gordon's version of events, he had to go directly to Bethesda in order to get his contract in place in order to produce the soundtrack for Doom Eternal. It is also claimed that the contract was only agreed upon after id Software announced that Gordon would be returning after a successful stint on Doom (2016). From there, id Software reportedly wielded creative control and the working relationship between Gordon and id Software became untenable.
Gordon's post is filled with receipts, proving certain dates and providing some context as to when certain things took place. The entire post is essentially a point-by-point defence against Stratton's 2020 Reddit post, which Gordon says negatively impacted his professional life.
Bethesda's statement does not contain any receipts. The company is “aware of all the details and history” in this matter and claims that Gordon's post is a “distortion of the truth”. The company also directly mentions Stratton, indicating that he has the support of all the higher-ups in this matter.
Bethesda claims that it stands ready with “full and complete documented evidence” to disclose in an “appropriate venue”, so if this turns into a legal matter, that is likely where we would see any of this evidence come to light.
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KitGuru Says: Bethesda's response falls a bit flat here, particularly since it was an id Software employee that fired the first shots publicly. With that said, as we saw with the recent situation with Helena Taylor and PlatinumGames, there can be more to these situations than meets the eye.