Music intern not credited on God of War Ragnarok, says their work didn't meet the "minimum criteria"

God of War Ragnarok
(Image credit: Sony)

A music intern who worked on God of War Ragnarok has revealed she's not been credited for her contribution to the game.

In a tweet, Jessica Mao shared her disappointment at being left out of the credits for the critically acclaimed title. "Unfortunately, my name is not in the credits, and apparently it can't be added in a patch update," Mao wrote. 

The composer worked full-time as a music production intern at God of War developer Santa Monic Studio from June to August 2021 and contributed to the editing, arrangement, and implementation of music for the Freya chase scene and the Thor boss fight.

According to Mao, she was told that her contribution didn't meet the "minimum criteria" necessary for an in-game credit. "This was incredibly disappointing and discouraging for me to learn, and I'd hate for anyone else to go through it", Mao said. 

In a follow-up tweet, she asked that developers credit everyone who works on a game regardless of the scope of their role. "Game devs, please credit EVERYONE who participates in the development of a game," she said, adding, "It only makes sense."

Many God of War fans replied with messages of support for Mao, including Sean LaValle, a senior audio technical designer at Santa Monic Studio. "I fully agree everyone who contributed to a project should be credited," LaValle wrote. He also said that he will "definitely ask about this" in the hope that Mao's name can still be included, but added that "it may indeed be too late."

Let's hope the issue gets swiftly resolved so that Mao gets the recognition she deserves and we don't see others having to jump through "minimum criteria" hurdles in the future. 

In our God of War Ragnarok review, we said, "For the most part, this is exceptional" and described it as "a fitting close for Kratos' Viking adventure".

Already done with Ragnarok and wondering what to play next? Check out these games like God of War.

Anne-Marie Ostler
Freelance Writer

Originally from Ireland, I moved to the UK in 2014 to pursue a Games Journalism and PR degree at Staffordshire University. Following that, I've freelanced for GamesMaster, Games TM, Official PlayStation Magazine and, more recently, Play and GamesRadar+. My love of gaming sprang from successfully defeating that first Goomba in Super Mario Bros on the NES. These days, PlayStation is my jam. When not gaming or writing, I can usually be found scouring the internet for anything Tomb Raider related to add to my out of control memorabilia collection.