Sony Faces Criticism for Omitting Until Dawn Writers from Movie Credits

Kim MacAskill, a former narrative director at PlayStation, has launched a petition urging the creators of the Until Dawn movie to properly credit the game's original writers. As reported by Eurogamer, MacAskill's campaign is aimed at Sony, requesting a change in how intellectual property (IP) is credited, especially in transmedia adaptations. She expressed her frustration on the petition, stating, "I've just left Until Dawn where the film director, writers, etc, were all credited, but instead of [Sony] mentioning the leading game dev(s) who created this ICONIC game you're clearly proud of, [Sony] just wrapped it as 'based on the Sony game.' They spent years breaking their brains to make something incredible, and the world DESERVES to know their names... instead… No credit. No thanks. No honor."

In a detailed LinkedIn post, MacAskill compared the treatment of the Until Dawn team with that of HBO's adaptation of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us, which credits both the studio and Neil Druckmann as writer and director. She highlighted the disparity, noting that Sony executives informed her that the IP she created would never be credited to her due to her salaried status, which offered no royalties, control, ownership, or acknowledgment. She questioned Sony directly, saying, "I am struggling with the difference between Neil Druckmann's favor and that of others in your company."

MacAskill further elaborated that when she inquired about the rights to her created IP, a Sony representative responded that the company understood her position but could not comply, stating it was a firm-wide policy and not personal. She emphasized, "All I wanted was to be credited and to potentially have enough ownership for adaptation."

The petition calls on Sony to revise its approach to IP crediting in transmedia adaptations, suggesting an executive producer credit or equivalent acknowledgment to honor the creators. MacAskill argues this would not only recognize the Until Dawn team but also uphold the integrity of the industry, inspiring future creators. She urges supporters to sign the petition to advocate for proper recognition of game creators in transmedia narratives.

In related news, Until Dawn Remastered is reportedly set to be one of the PlayStation Plus games for May 2025, possibly as a promotional move for the recently released Until Dawn movie. However, the film received a lukewarm response, earning a 5/10 in IGN's Until Dawn movie review, which criticized it for failing to capture the horror game's potential and instead delivering a disjointed series of horror movie tropes.