Award-winning video game music composer Mick Gordon has noted he will be donating his fee for his work on Atomic Heart to charity in support of Ukrainian civilians suffering amid the 2022 Russian invasion. The Australian-based musician has donated his fee to the Australian Red Cross’ Ukraine Crisis Appeal, explaining the Red Cross has been “a vital resource for those affected by the conflict, providing aid, medical care, and psychosocial support.”
My musical contribution to #AtomicHeart will also support a greater cause. I’ve donated my fee to @RedCrossAU’s Ukraine Crisis Appeal to stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
If you’re able to, please consider donating.
Together we can make a difference. #SupportUkraine pic.twitter.com/ADVZiWafw8— Mick Gordon (@Mick_Gordon) February 14, 2023
Gordon explains he was contacted by Atomic Heart developer Mundfish Studio in April 2020, just under two years before the February 2022 Russian invasion. Mundfish was founded in Moscow in 2017 but appears to have recently relocated its headquarters to Cyprus. Its official site describes a distributed development team of 130 people across 10 countries, one of which is not named.
“The game’s unique aesthetic, combined with my musician’s love for Soviet-era synthesisers, provided an exciting creative opportunity,” writes Gordon. “I was thrilled to be involved and am grateful that the team saw fit to bring me onboard.”
“I’m eager to see and hear my musical contributions come to life in the final game when Atomic Heart releases later this month.”
Gordon also noted that working with Mundfish has been “an absolute delight.”
Gordon, the award-winning composer behind the likes of 2016’s Doom, Doom Eternal, and MachineGames’ Wolfenstein series, made headlines last year by refuting Bethesda executive producer Marty Stratton’s comments about his work on Doom Eternal. Gordon alleged he went unpaid for 11 months, was subject to unrealistic deadlines, and that Doom Eternal used numerous music tracks that he was told were rejected during development, and that weren’t paid for.
Atomic Heart, a single-player shooter set in an alternate history Soviet Union-inspired world in which players must battle hordes of deadly robots, arrives next week. In the meantime, IGN’s final preview of Atomic Heart has plenty more on what to expect.
Luke is Games Editor at IGN’s Sydney office. You can chat to him on Twitter @MrLukeReilly.