Mick Gordon Says He’d Return to Doom “In a Heartbeat” Despite Past Fallout with id Software

By Sam Ramirez•12 October 2026

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Mick Gordon, the Australian composer behind the music for 2016’s Doom and its 2020 sequel Doom Eternal, told IGN that he would be willing to return to the series “in a heartbeat” if circumstances aligned.

The comments came during an interview at this weekend’s PAX Australia, where Gordon suggested his involvement with id Software’s shooter franchise may not be permanently over—despite the very public falling-out between him and the Doom Eternal development team after the game’s release.

“There are a lot of dominoes that would have to fall in a very specific way for that to occur,” said Gordon. “If those dominoes ever fell in that way, I would. Of course. Within a heartbeat.”

Gordon did not specify what those “dominoes” might be. Disputes between the composer and Doom Eternal executive producer Marty Stratton appear unresolved. In a lengthy 2022 post on Medium, Gordon accused id Software of failing to pay him for half his work on the Doom Eternal soundtrack and singled out Stratton as a “recurringly abusive presence” throughout his time scoring the game.

Despite those tensions, Gordon said he retains enthusiasm for the franchise. “I had a whole list of ideas where I wanted to go with Doom,” he explained. “And I’d love to explore that one day, for sure.”

The future of Doom remains uncertain regardless of whether Gordon returns. id Software was among many studios affected by Microsoft’s cuts to its Xbox business, with 136 staff at the developer impacted by layoffs in July. Lead services programmer Chris Hays said at the time: “It’s hard to make a game that is AAA, that’s like we’ve done before, with half the people. And by hard, I mean impossible.”

In the meantime, Gordon has taken on several projects. He contributed theme music for the final boss fight in Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2, releasing October 14, and continues working on the full soundtrack for Defect, a squad-based cyberpunk shooter from veterans of Doom and Call of Duty.

In 2027, Gordon will return to Doom in at least a performative capacity as headliner of the UK’s RADAR music festival, where he’ll play the music he composed for Doom and Doom Eternal with a full live band for the first time.