The Biggest Beast In Video Game Music: Bear McCreary Explained

When you’re playing a game scored by Bear McCreary, you know it. You can feel it in every epic, emotionally charged chord and every tasty, mind blowing riff. McCreary is one of the best, most prolific composers working in video game music today and it’s a fact that modern games would not be what they are without his talent. Let’s take a look at the man, the myth, the legend.

No one tells a story like McCreary. The word “epic” barely does justice to the pulse pounding tracks he creates. It’s no wonder that the games he scores feel so cinematically impactful, McCreary got his start in film and television composing. He got his first big break on a little show you might have heard of called Battlestar Galactica. After the original composer decided not to work on the series past the pilot, McCreary stepped in and became lead composer for the fan favorite show. 

He also composed the soundtrack to the mega hits Outlander and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. But he racked up some serious nerd cred when he scored Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem in 2013. And even more nerd cred the following year when he scored Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie, based off of the YouTube phenom.

But most gamers know him and love him best for his groundbreaking, Olympus worthy score on God of War. He and the game racked up a ton of awards and launched him into the pantheon of all time game composer greats. Good news for fans: he’s only getting started. McCreary returns to the sonic stage this year when God of War Ragnarok drops. (Unless of course the game is delayed…) He’s also responsible for the music in the much anticipated Forspoken game which has already been delayed and will now be released in October. 

If you’re looking for a place to start listening to this guy who both looks and makes music like a wizard, jump into the God of War soundtrack. It’s one of those soundtracks that is so amazingly powerful, it’ll make you realize you should probably mute the music of whatever game you’re playing and pop some Bear McCreary on instead.