Xbox Showcase, which took place on 9th June 2024, dominated with the announcement of Doom: The Dark Ages. Fans of the series were enthralled at the sight of a new game coming their way.
However, some fans deemed it necessary to pay homage to Mick Gordon, the composer of Doom: Eternal’s soundtrack. Mick Gordon was allegedly harassed by Studio executives in Bethesda in response to Gordon’s alleged failure to deliver the soundtrack for the game on time.
Gordon was allegedly burdened with the task of producing 2 finished level scores per month, without any details on level themes, boss fights, and developer-intended sound cues. It was a nightmare for Gordon, who also alleges to have not been paid on time. His requests for amending the schedule were rejected by the studio, abusively.
Fans’ reaction to the upcoming Doom: The Dark Ages
Fans are super excited about the upcoming Doom title; Doom: The Dark Ages, upon its announcement on Xbox Showcase recently, it has managed to garner a lot of attention which has managed to resurface old forgotten tales revolving around the previous game, especially concerning Gordon.
One fan expressed his thoughts on the announcement by saying –
Hate to break the hype but…
Not forgetting how Mick Gordon was treated. I'm excited for the game… but at the same time, I hate what happened.
— LuciferSynd | On Twitch (@LuciferSynd) June 9, 2024
Fans are not willing to forget or forgive Bethesda Studios for their unprofessional management during the Gordon controversy, they failed to manage the work effectively and the repercussions of it.
Another user wrote –
They need to compensate that man.
— pepperoni 451 (@ryleks) June 9, 2024
Some people argued that it was solely a management issue and not a development issue, hence blaming developers for it would not be fair. One user wrote –
I agree. But It's a management issue not a development issue.
— papa goks🇹🇷 (@Goktor06) June 9, 2024
Fans are still excited about the upcoming game and urge people to look at the game as a separate entity from Gordon’s case.
The excitement for the game’s release is not directly correlated to their morals or desire to support Gordon by all means. A person can’t boycott a game on account of unproven allegations. But still, people choose to be empathetic about it. One user said –
You are right… Still horrible how that all went down but im still gonna be excited about the game. That is something i literally cannot look past…
— Ricardo Hendriks⚜️ (@HendriksRicardo) June 9, 2024
What happened with Gordon is by no means acceptable and Bethesda is liable to pay for their action in the future, but until then people can be excited about everyone’s favorite franchise’s new release coming in 2025.
Overview of Gordon Vs Stratton
In 2020, Stratton posted a Reddit thread addressing the incompetencies he found in Gordon and addressed discrepancies in sound mixing between the Doom Eternal OST and the same track from 2016’s Doom. He claimed Gordon to be a lazy man who failed to deliver results on time.
Gordon’s reply to this was a very lengthy account of all the things that went down during the production of the soundtrack including the unrealistic deadlines. He also claimed that the studio only paid him for half his work and the executives were abusive throughout the process, especially Marty Stratton.
All in all, the fight between Gordon and Stratton should not affect the response Doom: The Dark Ages is supposed to get as the developers worked super hard to bring the game to the audience. Gordon is one of the best composers in the gaming industry who received many accolades for his work in Doom: Eternal irrespective of the controversy surrounding the game.
