Game Music Digest - The Sounds of the Summer Game Showcases
Everything you need to know from the world of video games and music.
Game Music Digest is a weekly wrap-up of the most interesting stories at the intersection of video games and music, brought to you by MusicEXP. Subscribe to keep on top of the latest trends in video games and music delivered straight to your inbox every Monday!
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The video game industry has just emerged from its busiest weekend of the year: the summer video game showcases.
In June of each year, video game companies from all over the world come together to reveal new trailers and showcase in-depth looks at upcoming titles. After the biggest gaming expo, E3, was canceled in 2023, new events such as Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest and IGN Live have popped up as alternatives, while some video game studios stay clear of the Los Angeles sun and focus on their own virtual showcases.
If you’re not overly familiar with the world of video games, this time of the year is basically The Super Bowl for gamers. There’s a lot happening and all of it is very exciting – but you subscribe to this newsletter for music and gaming news, not for general gaming updates!
Rather than go through all of the showcases that took place this weekend past (Summer Game Fest, IGN Live, Future Game Show, Ubisoft Forward, Xbox Games Showcase – there are simply too many games to mention, ah!) I thought I’d shout out the games that share a strong link with music, whether that’s through their soundtrack, narrative themes or gameplay mechanics.
Of course, you’ll still find all of the latest music and gaming stories below (I just can’t turn down a topical opportunity to talk about the music in Life is Strange!)
Sounds of the Video Game Summer Showcase
Mixtape was one of the biggest surprises from the Xbox showcase – a new teen drama/coming-of-age game where listening to your ‘80s mixtape gives you “cosmic powers.” The developer is Beethoven and Dinosaur, the same studio behind The Artful Escape, a music-focused game exploring the psychedelic persona of its guitar prodigy protagonist. The reveal trailer announced Devo, Roxy Music, Lush, The Smashing Pumpkins, Iggy Pop, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Joy Division in its soundtrack. [Watch the trailer here.]
A new Life is Strange game! The series is up there with GTA and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater for having the best game soundtracks to ever exist. The supernatural coming-of-age drama (think Twin Peaks meets The Butterfly Effect) heavily leans into indie folk music, with licensed tracks from Mogwai, Angus & Julia Stone, Foals, Sufjan Stevens and Message to Bears sitting alongside original compositions from Daughter and mxmtoon for Life is Strange: Before the Storm and Life is Strange: True Colors. As for what to expect from the latest game, Life is Strange: Double Exposure, we’ll have to wait and see. [Watch the trailer here.]
How do you make a video game series that’s synonymous with heavy metal even more metal? Kick it back to a Medieval setting and plunge it into a fiery bath of flames and chains. DOOM: The Dark Ages featured the heaviest trailer of the weekend in metalcore galore, but there’s no confirmation yet on who’s scoring the game following Mick Gordon’s departure from the series. Andrew Hulshult and David Levy scored the DLC for the last game – will they make a return? [Watch the trailer here.]
“Save a puppy and embark on a musical, hand-drawn adventure,” in Koira, a new game from Belgian indie game studio TOLIMA. The game was revealed nine months ago, but the latest trailer gives us a deeper look at what we can expect - Piano and minimalist strings feature aplenty in its musical forest. [Watch the trailer here.]
Unbeatable is an anime-inspired rhythm adventure game in which “music is illegal and you do crimes.” You play as pink-haired protagonist Beat as you batter cops and play concerts in beat-matching gameplay that only requires two buttons to nail. [Watch the trailer here.]
South of Midnight featured one of the most interesting trailers from the Xbox showcase. It’s a fantasy coming-of-age adventure (I’m noticing a theme here…) riffing on folktales from the American Deep South. I’ve been excited for this soundtrack ever since I heard the blues music in its announcement trailer, but now that we know Olivier Deriviere (A Plague Tale, Streets of Rage 4, Dying Light 2), I simply cannot wait. Deriviere is a MASTER at implementing dynamic game music, so expect to be blown away by this. [Watch the trailer here.]
I’m a sucker for emotionally charged soundtracks in video games, so obviously I’m already in love with Neva. It’s developed by Nomada Studio, the same team who made GRIS, with composer Berlinist also making a return. [Watch the trailer here.]
It wouldn’t be a Gears of War trailer without a bit of Gary Jules! Nice to hear those iconic notes from Mad World reappearing in the latest trailer for Gears of War: E Day. The song is inseparable from the franchise after featuring in earlier trailers and getting a needle drop during a pivotal moment in Gears of War 3 (Spoilers!). [Watch the latest trailer here.]
Finally, if you’re into games with a musical focus, make sure you check out Tempopo, a new puzzle game where you rescue musical flowers. [Watch the trailer here.]
Game Studios Are Leaving Money on the Table With Their Game Soundtracks
[Via Gamesindustry.biz] Video game soundtrack sales are booming, but there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done on the digital front. Sophie McEvoy, Staff Writer at Gamesindustry.biz, speaks to Danny Kelleher, CEO of video game soundtrack label and publisher Laced [disclosure: where I also work], about the growing popularity of video game music and the importance of game studios correctly publishing their music to generate new revenue streams for themselves and composers while protecting against piracy.
Ubisoft’s Music Tuition Game RockSmith+ Gets a PlayStation Port
[Via Ubisoft] RockSmith+, a video game-turned-music service that gamifies the experience of learning how to play guitar, bass and piano, has finally been ported to PlayStation consoles. In a recently published Q&A, Ubisoft sits down with Lead Music Library Developer, Shane Gann to ask about the process of music curation, note tracking and upcoming music drops for RockSmith+.
ABC’s Latest Game Show Explores Music in Tekken, Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat
[Via ABC] Did you know Australia’s Broadcasting Corporation [ABC] has a weekly radio show dedicated to video game music? The latest episode of Game Show explores the music in fighting games such as Tekken, Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. If you like what you hear, make sure you return every Friday!
Artists from Rockstar Games’ CircoLoco Record Label are Now Streaming on Apple Music
[Via RockstarIntel] CircoLoco Records, the record label created in partnership between GTA creator Rockstar and dance party brand CircoLoco, has a back catalog of releases that are now available to stream on Apple Music. Also arriving on Apple are four exclusive live sets recorded in spatial audio. It’ll be interesting to see how heavily CircoLoco artists feature in the upcoming GTA VI.
New Update for Enshrouded adds Playable Instruments and Jam Sessions
[Via Eurogamer] A new update for the survival game Enshrouded adds playable musical instruments into the game, including lutes, harps, drums and flute. This is one of the latest games to embrace new systems for playable music, recently seen in Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth and Tchia.
Video Game Industry Pays Tribute to Music Legend, Geoff Follin
[Via GDC] The video game industry paid tribute to the amazing work of composer Geoff Follin, brother of Tim Follin and Mike Follin, who passed away at the age of 58. Geoff is responsible for composing some of the greatest video game soundtracks on early home computers such as the C64 and later on the NES, SNES and Game Boy. There is no overstating how influential his work is to a generation of game composers that followed – just listen to his music for PLOK and Silver Surfer, which he worked on with his brother, Tim.
Dan Toliver Launches Fortnite Experience to Promote Latest Album
[Via MusicAlly] American rapper and singer Dan Toliver has launched a Fortnite experience using the game’s UGC tools to promote his upcoming album, Hardstone Psycho. The Hardstone game is a capture-the-flag shooter developed by 3D Lab in partnership with 3D Lab and Atlantic Records.