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Music producer and composer Jessica Mao, who worked as an intern at Santa Monica Studio, claims they worked on the sequel but haven't been credited.

Chris Kerr, News Editor

November 21, 2022

2 Min Read
A screenshot from God of War: Ragnarok

A composer who previously worked as an intern at Santa Monica Studio claims they haven't been credited for their work on God of War: Ragnarok.

In a thread posted on social media, music producer and composer Jessica Mao said they helped edit, arrange, and implement the music in some of Ragnarok's set pieces including a chase scene featuring Freya and a boss fight centred around Thor.

Mao posted clips from the title explaining how she overcame certain technical challenges, such as how she toned down some of the music heard in the Thor boss fight by making new stems be reworking some of the title's original stems, which she says were "too fully orchestrated."

"The stem i'm proudest of is one where i removed all instruments and left just the percussion and vocals," said Mao, posting a clip of the boss fight so people could hear her work in action.

At the end of her thread, however, Mao said that her name doesn't appear in the Ragnarok credits because her contribution to the title didn't hit the "minimum criteria." She also claims to have been told that her name cannot be added in a patch.

"This was incredibly disappointing and discouraging for me to learn, and i'd hate for anyone else to go through it," wrote Mao. "Game devs, please credit everyone who participates in the development of a game. It only makes sense."

This isn't the first time credits (or a lack thereof) have caused controversy. In October last year, a number of developers called out Metroid Dread developer MercurySteam for refusing to credit them for their work on the title.

At the time, the studio said it had a policy of not crediting developers who worked on games for "less than 25 percent" of development. Based on Mao's comments about not hitting some "minimum criteria," it sounds like Sony might have implemented a similar policy.

Game Developer has reached out to Sony for comment and will update this story when we hear back.

About the Author(s)

Chris Kerr

News Editor, GameDeveloper.com

Game Developer news editor Chris Kerr is an award-winning journalist and reporter with over a decade of experience in the game industry. His byline has appeared in notable print and digital publications including Edge, Stuff, Wireframe, International Business Times, and PocketGamer.biz. Throughout his career, Chris has covered major industry events including GDC, PAX Australia, Gamescom, Paris Games Week, and Develop Brighton. He has featured on the judging panel at The Develop Star Awards on multiple occasions and appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live to discuss breaking news.

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