Research portfolio – Video-Game composer
The video game industry has grown prolifically in the last few years, with over twenty-thousand games released on steam alone in 2025 (Steam DB, 2025). In the past few years “indie games” have risen in sales and reputation, rivaling that of bigger budget games (Wu, 2025). With the increased variety of creative projects, so too has the video game score changed, now spanning multitudes of genres and styles. Whether it is the Jazz of Cuphead, the Metal of Guilty Gear, EDM of Tekken or the Classical of Hollow Knight. The depth of styles continues to develop and with that the amount of creative opportunities for video game composers have never been greater.
Overview
As described by Broflowski (2024) “The main focus of a video-game composer is to write and often produce music for a game”. These video game scores will aim to aid and enhance the game’s effect in many different ways. For example, they might try to increase the emotional impact and story telling of a game, or help set the atmosphere and further communicate the “creative vision” of a game (Sweet, 2014:58,59). A typical day’s work may vary depending on your roles in different projects and who you are working with, as Chris Redwood describes in Careers in music (2015): “My company does everything audio for video games so my tasks vary from project management, composing, sound design and editing, voice directing, implementation, and general consulting. The people I work for are usually Game Designers, Producers, and Audio Directors. On the creative side, I work with Sound designers, Mixers, Engineers, Recordists, Music Video Directors, Orchestrators, and Session Musicians.” This can vary greatly depending on whether you’re working freelance or in a salary paid position, such as working in-House.
Freelancing, In-House composition and Career development
Currently in the industry a large majority of video game composers work freelance with “a very few companies that still have in-house composers.” (UK music, 2024) as a result freelancing will be the most common way to find work as a video game composer. “Freelancers are independent professionals” (Flutumusic, 2025) “doing particular pieces of work for different organisations, rather than working all the time for a single organisation” (Cambridge dictionary). Freelancing and in-house composition both come with many different positives and negatives both practically and legally. For example freelancing comes with as the name suggests more freedom, not only in how you set your hours and where you work, but also in your process what software you use (Matt,2022:1.1). It can also come with the option to be able to pick the projects better suited to you and your interests. Freelancing can come with more responsibility managing finances compared to a salary paid job, this can include setting aside enough money to pay tax. Additionally, having responsibility to plan for pensions. (Javanshir,2024:1,2)
.
As already stated In-house composition is much rarer in the current landscape of the video game industry, with often only larger bigger budget game studios still having one (UK music, 2024). This as a result makes this type of job hard to come by especially for a beginner. Benefits of in-house composition can include collaboration, especially when compared to freelancing which can be quite isolated (Matt, 2022:1.1). Salary paid work of in-house composition might also suit some composers better as national insurance, tax and student loans have been taken care of and employment rights such as sick pay and annual leave, and contributions to pensions (Matt, 2022:1.1).
Overall freelancing, whether its positives and negatives are suited to a composer’s needs, is the most likely way to enter the profession. Directly linking to the video game industry, this would most commonly be working for indie games. These are games made by a small team without the backing of larger companies (Wu, 2025) often with smaller budgets they make up a large proportion of the gaming industry and will most likely be what a video-game composer entering the industry would get work for.
A large part of getting a job as a video-game composer is through networking (Careers in music, 2015). Great opportunities for doing this are in going to conventions with some examples in the UK including, PG connects and EGX (Matt, 2022:1.4). Both include opportunities to meet developers and people working in the industry but this also comes with the limitations in budget as travelling to attending conventions can be expensive. Nowadays lots of networking and marketing can be done online through social media. Through social media you are able to find and connect with game developers, especially indie developers as Matt (2022) describes as a way of getting experience “However, an even better idea is to scour Twitter and Facebook Dev groups for in-progress games. Once you find one that fits your style, DM the developer and ask if you can write an original track for the game, no strings attached.”
Career progression for a video game composer can have a lot to do with the type of projects and games you write for. Whether that’s in budget size, working for bigger studios, or in salaried in-house composition (Careers in music, 2015). Career development outside of the video game industry might be writing and scoring music for films or tv, being one of the closest in terms of technique and purpose to video game music (UK music, 2024).
Copyright and contracts
In the UK the two main areas of copyright that affect video-game composers is in the publishing rights and the master rights. The publishing rights “refer to the ownership of a song’s underlying musical work: its melody, lyrics, and structure” which would originally be owned by the composer. The master rights refer to the specific sound recording of a composition, this is typically owned by whoever financed the recording or released it (Witrand, 2025). The publishing rights get paid out most commonly though “performance royalties, mechanical royalties and synchronisation” (Pursehouse, 2021). Synchronisation is when music is paired with adverts, films and TV. In a video-game composer case it is unlikely for music contracted for a specific game to be used in this way outside of the contracted game. Mechanical royalties are through when your music is reproduced whether that is streaming or physical media (Pursehouse, 2021). And performance royalties occur when your music is performed whether live or on the radio. These royalties are then collected by PRO’s Publishing Rights Organisation which in the UK is PRS (Pursehouse, 2021) and then paid back out to the artist if they are a member (Pursehouse, 2021).
As a video game composer for specific sales of a game your work is on “you will not normally receive performance or broadcast payments from PRS (Green, 2023:part 2). you will still receive performance rights if your work is broadcast on film or tv, though this is quite rare. Additionally you will get paid if your work is performed or covered by other artists. Compared to music written for films and tv, where composers are paid when a film is streamed on a streaming service, video-game composers do . This results in often a larger “upfront fee” for video game composers (Green, 2023:part 2). However as Green (2023) writes, “It is very normal for the standard employment contract in the games industry to state that all music copyright and IP is owned by the studio”. A buyout is a common example of this, where the employer “pays a single fee for the composition. This is then used to acquire the creator’s rights and potential royalty income in respect of their work.” However in the uk you can always hold onto your rights to receive royalties (Ivors academy, 2022).
Compositional techniques
Video game music differs from other musical genres, even including more closely related genres such as film music, through the inherent quality of the medium being interactive. As Smith (2020) writes “games are a medium to evoke an experience and without the player do not yield any value. It is all about the player’s emotional experience created by the interaction.” This creates many different challenges and techniques when writing for video games.
The main example specific to the genre, that’s used in most games, is called Dynamic audio. “Dynamic audio is audio that reacts and changes based on the game state in real-time.” (Smith, 2020:10) this can be used to enhance story moments as you explore and near a game state change or it can be when you pick up an item or some sort of feedback from the player. The main way composers achieve this is through the use of software called middleware. Middleware is a “computer software that enables communication between multiple software applications” (Encyclopedia Britannica). This allows for video game composers to create systems that create interaction between the music and game (Smith, 2020:1). Some examples of middleware used are Wwise and FMOD (Smith, 2020:1). These Middleware do not replace the use of DAWs (digital audio workstation), such as Logic, Pro tools, Ableton, Reaper (Mitchell, 2022). Alternatively, whilst a DAW is used for producing music, middleware is used to sequence and arrange in direct connection to a game (Smith, 2020:1). Finding the right middleware for your work flow and project is very much about the individual composer’s process,“They just all sort of work a little differently, but they’re all going to allow you to do the same kinds of things,” (Carter, 2022). Middleware helps a composer create dynamic audio, which is something that makes video game scores unique. “Dynamic audio is audio that reacts and changes based on the game state in real-time.” (Smith, 2020:10) This can be used to enhance story moments as you explore a game’s world, for example when you pick up an item or enter a new area. Another use for middleware when creating dynamic audio is in fixing the problem of repeating tracks and loops which occurs due to a large proportion of games relying on replaying a certain gameplay loop. The Hades series composer Darren Corb, talks about solving this problem in “The Journal of Sound and Music in Games” (2025): “I have essentially a playlist of up to four pieces for the first three biomes and then Styx is always the same music. [In the first three biomes] there are four pieces that can play, and there are sections to each piece that are advanced through in script based on how deep you are in the run or what kind of room you’re in.” Through the use of middleware Corb is able to create a unique system to fit Hades and its specific gameplay loop.
Additionally creating more variability in a video game score can be done through techniques such as vertical re-orchestration; this is when a composer “uses different musical layers (or tracks) to alter the overall musical intensity” (Sweet, 2014). This can help allow scores to create a wider array of effects and emotions, reacting to the action of the player, whilst getting more out of a specific track (Smith, 2020:13). The inverse of this is horizontal re-sequencing, where you move between different “musical sections” depending on game play cues (Saedi, 2025). This both includes moving between different tracks transition loops but often more effectively moving between a track and silence. An example of this can be found in the game Hollow Knight: Silksong by composer Christoper Larkin. Larkin uses a track for each area that is played whilst exploring. Before boss or combat encounters, triggered by the player entering an arena, the music drops out helping to create suspense and anticipation for the player. This further increases the impact of when a boss is revealed and by extension often more intense music to accompany it.
Similarly to other music for media compositions such as for film, video-game composers have the opportunity to explore Diegetic music. This is as Sweet (2014) writes “music the character would hear if he or she were actually in the game world itself” examples of this could be music in a cafe or vendor is playing. Moving from extra-diegetic music to diegetic is another example of the importance of middleware, being able to create systems that change depending on a player’s location.
Conclusion
Through my research I have found skills and experience required to become a video-game composer that I would need to improve. One of them is in the use of music technology and production skills. While Daw’s are familiar to me, they are not yet fluent in my work flow as I prefer traditional music notation. Along with this experience using middleware software would be vital for my chances at being hired. Additionally, more exploration of techniques such as vertical re-orchestration and other such music systems that make video-game music unique would also be useful in relating my composition to video games.
Bay, J. W. (2015) How To Become A Video Game Composer. Available online: https://www.gameindustrycareerguide.com/how-to-become-a-video-game-music-composer/ [Accessed 07/01/2026]
Broflowski. J (2026) How to Become aVideo Game Composer. – EduReviewer. Available online: https://edureviewer.com/blog/become-video-game-music-composer/ [Accessed 07/01/2026]
Careers In Music (2015) How To Become A Video Game Composer. – Careers in Music Available online: https://www.careersinmusic.com/video-game-composer [Accessed 07/01/2026]
Decker, D. (2009) Game Audio Contracts – Game Developer. Available online: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/audio/game-audio-contracts [Accessed 07/01/2026]
Flutumusic (2025) Game Audio Company vs. Freelancer vs. In-House Team. Available online: https://flutumusic.com/2025/01/05/game-audio-company-vs-freelancer-inhouse/ [Accessed 07/01/2026]
Green, C. (2023) A Guide For Composers In The Video Games Industry | Pcam. Available online: https://www.pcam.co.uk/a-guide-for-composers-in-the-video-games-industry/ [Accessed 07/01/2026]
Ivors Academy (2022) A Guide To Buyouts For Media Composers. Available online: https://ivorsacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/A-guide-to-buyouts-for-media-composers.pdf [Accessed 07/01/2026]
Javanshir, M. (2024) 10 Questions I Ask Myself When Pricing Freelance Game Composition Work. Available online: https://medium.com/@mattjavanshir/10-questions-i-ask-myself-when-pricing-freelance-game-composition-work-efae0a61b1f8 [Accessed 07/01/2026]
Korb, D. Hill, C. Mantilla-Wright, S. (2025) Interview with Darren Korb. Journal of Sound and Music in Games, 6(1), 8–16. https://doi.org/10.1525/jsmg.2025.6.1.8
Matt. (2022) Video Game Composer Jobs: Where to Find Them and Strategies for Building your Career. Available online: https://composercode.com/video-game-composer-jobs/ [Accessed 07/01/2026]
Phillips, W. (2021) Composer Interview: Examining the Craft of Video Game Music Composition. Available online: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/audio/composer-interview-examining-the-craft-of-video-game-music-composition [Accessed 07/01/2026]
Pursehouse, S. (2021) How to… understand publishing rights. Available online: https://www.prsformusic.com/m-magazine/how-to/how-to-understanding-publishing-rights [Accessed 07/01/2026]
Saedi, E. (2025) What Is Adaptive Music? The Future of Sound in Games, Art, and Everyday Life. Available online: https://emadsaedi.medium.com/what-is-adaptive-music-the-future-of-sound-in-games-art-and-everyday-life-4fad4841ff28 [Accessed 07/01/2026]
Schmidt, B. (2019) Can Video Game Composers Get Royalties? – gamesoundcon. Available online: https://www.gamesoundcon.com/post/2019/06/15/can-video-game-composers-get-royalties [Accessed 07/01/2026]
Shamaly, M. (2025) Grand and tender: the music of Silksong by Christopher Larkin. Available online: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/game-show/game-show-the-music-of-silksong-by-christopher-larkin/105977990 [Accessed 07/01/2026]
Smit, A. (2024) Interview with Borislav Slavov – Soundtrack World. Available online:
https://soundtrackworld.com/2024/04/borislav-slavov-interview/ [Accessed 07/01/2026]
Smith, L. F. (2020) The Effect of Dynamic Music in Video Games. Available online: https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1446866/FULLTEXT01 [Accessed 07/01/2026]
Stevens R. & Raybould D. (2016) Game audio implementation: a practical guide using the unreal engine. Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group.
Sweet M. (2014) Writing interactive music for video games. Upper Saddle River (NJ): Addison Wesley
UK Music (2024) Composer For Video Games – UK Music. Available online: https://www.ukmusic.org/job-profiles/composer-for-video-games/ [Accessed 07/01/2026]
Witrand, E. (2025) Master Rights vs. Publishing Rights: What’s the Difference and Why It Matters – Soundcharts. Available online: https://soundcharts.com/blog/master-rights-vs-publishing-rights [Accessed 07/01/2026]
Workbred (2023) Composer: Key Skills, Qualifications and Career Path. Available online: https://workbred.co.uk/career/composer [Accessed 07/01/2026]
Wu, J. (2025) The Rise of Indie Games: How Passion and Creativity are Revolutionizing the Industry. Available online: https://thesciencesurvey.com/arts-entertainment/2025/03/09/the-rise-of-indie-games-how-passion-and-creativity-are-revolutionizing-the-industry/ [Accessed 07/01/2026]
