A handful of composers created most classic RPG soundtracks

I’ve always been a big fan of soundtracks, and video game soundtracks are no exception. Buying games on GOG.com usually nets you the soundtracks as well, so recently I’ve been enjoying a lot of classic RPG music. What struck me was how few composers were responsible for creating the ambiance of so many beloved classics. Look at how many series are covered by just the following six composers:

• Inon Zur (Icewind Dale II, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age II, Fallout series starting with Fallout 3 plus Fallout Tactics, co-composer for Baldur’s Gate II: Throne of Bhaal and Pathfinder: Kingmaker, additional music for Neverwinter Nights)
• Jeremy Soule (Neverwinter Nights, Icewind Dale, The Elder Scrolls series starting with Morrowind, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic)
• Justin E. Bell (Pillars of Eternity series, Tyranny, The Outer Worlds)
• Mark Morgan (Fallout, Fallout 2, Planescape: Torment, Torment: Tides of Numenera, Wasteland 2, Wasteland 3)
• Kirill Pokrovsky (Divinity series up through Divinity: Original Sin)
• Borislav Slavov (Divinity: Origin Sin II, Baldur’s Gate 3)

Of the above, I highly recommend the truly excellent Divine Divinity soundtrack (terrible title, great music!), as well as Baldur’s Gate 3, particularly the vocal songs like “Down by the River”, “I Want to Live”, and “The Power”.

To me, it emphasized just how hard it is to break into this industry commercially, as these famous names and a handful of others will (deservedly!) continue to get work on the small number of major projects that get published every year. I worry that the less prestigious work that helps pays the bills/build experience for the large majority of composers who have yet to achieve name recognition will increasingly go to AI, impoverishing the pipeline for tomorrow’s great video game soundtrack composers.