Bethesda has issued a statement in response to last week’s lengthy statement from Doom Eternal composer Mick Gordon, accusing id Software Studio Director Marty Stratton of lies surrounding the game’s soundtrack production and id Software’s failure to pay for all of the music used within the game.
Bethesda’s statement reads:
The recent post by 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.
We are aware of all the details and history in this matter and unequivocally support Marty, Chad, and the team at id Software. We reject the distortion of the truth and selective presentation of incomplete “facts”. We stand ready with full and complete documented evidence to disclose in an appropriate venue as needed.
The statements posted online have incited harassment and threats of violence against Marty, Chad, and the id Software team. Any threats or harassment directed towards members of our teams will be met with swift and appropriate action to protect their health and safety.
We remain incredibly proud of id’s previous collaborations with Mick Gordon and ask that fans refrain from reaching conclusions based on his account and, more importantly, from attacking any of the individuals mentioned on either side, including Marty, Chad, or Mick.
Once again, this is turning into another case of two contradictory accounts of events, and after the Bayonetta 3 debacle last month, people should be wary to trust either side without question. Gordon explicitly stated that this should not be used as an excuse to hurl abuse at id Software and the key individuals mentioned, and Bethesda have followed the same message.
However, Bethesda has not offered any tangible rebuttal to some of the key points that Gordon has made. Yes, he has selected several key points, but they established a timeline regarding the soundtrack’s announcement in mid-2019 without his prior knowledge, and that he was not under contract to produce one until after the soundtrack was delayed in March 2020 shortly before the game’s release. Both of these points directly counter the chain of events that Stratton laid out in his open letter on Reddit, and Gordon backed this up with lightly redacted screenshots of emails to show dates.
Naturally Bethesda don’t really want this kind of thing out in the public eye, so they won’t be drawn into a public slinging match around dates and showing emails. Even if Stratton totally started this with his open letter.
This has brought what was previously a behind-closed-doors back and forth between lawyers into the spotlight, with Gordon claiming that his role in the OST’s production has been seriously mischaracterised by Stratton, that id Software used double the amount of music than they were contractually allowed to, and that id Software and Bethesda were withholding payment until Gordon signs an NDA forbidding him from discussing the debacle publicly.
Will we get a public resolution to this? Probably not, and that’s going to leave a stink on this game’s release for a long time to come.
