More than two years after Doom Eternal composer Mick Gordon publicly announced his disagreement with Bethesda Softworks, he issued a lengthy and detailed statement (opens in new tab) regarding his position in the dispute. While claiming that he was the target of unfair and dishonest behavior on the part of id Software, perpetrated by Doom Eternal executive producer Marty Stratton, he said, "I never quit Doom. I quit a toxic client."

The crack in the surface came after the official Doom Eternal OST was released in April 2020. The sound quality was poor (open in new tab), and Gordon soon revealed that he had not mixed most of the tracks. He also expressed doubts about working with Bethesda again at the time, a very surprising statement given his long and positive relationship with the studio, including the 2016 "Doom" reboot, the "Wolfenstein" reboot, and "Prey."

In May, Stratton posted an "open letter" (opens in new tab) on Reddit in which he praised Gordon as a composer, but described him as unreliable and difficult to work with. He said that because Gordon failed to meet the agreed-upon deadline for the OST and the two-month extension granted at his request was not sufficient, id Software had to lay the blame on lead audio designer Chad Mossholder. stratton said that his remarks on reddit were Gordon's "direct and personal attack" on Mossholder prompted by Gordon, and while he wished Gordon well, he added that Bethesda and id Software would not be working with Gordon on the Doom Eternal DLC.

Gordon declined to comment at the time, but today's statement is quite different from the one offered by Stratton. In it, Gordon refutes much of Stratton's 2020 message, stating that Stratton "lied about the circumstances surrounding the Doom Eternal Soundtrack," "used disinformation and innuendo," and unfairly accused him of its failure.

"Marty's Reddit postings have seriously affected both my professional and personal reputation," Gordon wrote.

"By issuing this statement, I am exercising my right to defend myself. It is issued quite unwillingly after all other attempts to resolve this issue have failed, and is not an unprovoked attack, but a defense."

Gordon also called on his fans and followers not to respond in an abusive manner to those involved: "This statement is not an excuse for a hate campaign. This statement is not an excuse for a hate campaign. On the contrary, it will only make things worse."

After explaining his employment status (Gordon is an independent contractor, not an employee of id Software or Bethesda) and his work, Gordon said that during the composition of Doom Eternal, tight deadlines, lack of instructions and support materials He stated that he encountered many difficulties, including slow communication and multiple interruptions. The schedule was "a masterpiece on Excel but a disaster in reality," he wrote, and efforts to come up with something more workable were unsuccessful. Stratton "rejected" his criticism of the schedule, describing it as "a sign of incompetence."

This was very early in the project, and according to Gordon, things got worse as development progressed. Gordon claims that he worked for months (at one point nearly a full year) without pay and was unaware of any plans to release an official soundtrack until it was announced at E3 in 2019. The crunch was brutal for both him and id Software: Gordon says that one of the reasons there was no proper strategy for the OST release was that "id Software was stretched thin by the overwhelming push to meet the November 22 release date and had no other looming Gordon speculates that "id Software was stretched thin by the overwhelming push to meet the November 22 release date and did not have the capacity to deal with other looming issues. "

Doom Eternal was eventually released to rave reviews, but Gordon stated that there was no soundtrack contract yet, claiming that when the OST was delayed (open in new tab) to March 2020, he had not yet been offered a work contract. Stratton eventually revealed to Gordon that id Software had been working on an "alternative OST" for at least six months before he was offered the contract, and Gordon said the offer finally arrived two days before Doom Eternal's release. Last-ditch efforts to collaborate on the project failed, at which point Stratton decided to release Mossholder's work.

"I could have protested, but it wouldn't have helped," Gordon wrote.

"The contract guaranteed Marty veto power and complete creative control. After all, I was merely a contractor, their product, and they would control every aspect of the project."

"I was not a contractor.

"I voiced my concerns about [Chad Mossholder's] editing and hoped it had improved from the previous week. I told him that he should ensure that the album adhered to the mastering standards and gave him specific details in that regard.

Ultimately, Bethesda confirmed that Gordon had fulfilled his contractual obligations and paid him what was due. However, Gordon took serious issue with the condition of the OST, stating that it was "full of really obvious technical flaws, mistakes, and errors as a result of careless editing."

The OST contained a "large amount" of music for which he was not paid, including rejected songs, demos, sketches, and mock-ups. Gordon and Stratton therefore held a conference call, during which Gordon and Stratton agreed to issue a joint statement to resolve the OST issue. Shortly thereafter, however, Stratton posted an "open letter" on Reddit, calling Gordon to account for his troubles.

"I was horrified," Gordon wrote. The Reddit postings were "littered with lies and disinformation that directly contradicted actual events and the terms of the contract.

Lawyers were involved and a settlement was allegedly exchanged: according to Gordon, he was offered a "six-figure sum" in exchange for taking responsibility for the soundtrack problems, which he declined. Meanwhile, his offer to produce a proper OST was put on hold when Stratton refused to delete his Reddit post.

Tired of having his reputation called into question by Stratton's open letter (he stated that after the post, "the online invective escalated at an alarming rate"), Gordon eventually had the post removed himself by a sympathetic Doom subreddit mod He had it removed. Stratton's lawyer then apparently ended any hope of reaching an agreement, as Stratton is said to have told Gordon that he was "very offended" and "furious" over the deletion of the post and "made it clear in the strongest terms that an amicable resolution was not possible."

Gordon said that Stratton's response put him in a position where he had no choice but to make a public statement in order to repair his reputation.

"Marty could not accept that I never wanted to work with him again and did his utmost to send my career spiraling downward as punishment," Gordon wrote. He resorted to lies and innuendos that would bankrupt him at the most basic level of scrutiny." [Using NDAs, settlements, and gag orders to contain the truth is a terrible tactic used by those in positions of power who fear accountability. I chose to speak out because I had the option of condoning such tactics."

As a fan of both Mick Gordon and Doom, I am saddened that their relationship has gone so badly. There is clearly animosity here that goes far beyond a disagreement about creative direction. Gordon said that his statement does not reflect an "overwhelmingly positive and successful relationship" with "many people and studios under the ZeniMax umbrella," and that the projects and people he worked with "remain dear to (his) heart." However, it is clear that Gordon's relationship with Stratton is broken on a deeper level, and Gordon's prediction that he will never work with Bethesda again is likely to come true.

We have asked Bethesda for comment on Gordon's statement and will update if we hear back.

.