When should you bring a composer into your game?

A question we hear a lot from small teams: "Is it too early to talk to a composer?" Most of the time the answer is no. Audio is often left until the last few weeks, and that is usually when it is hardest and most expensive to get right.

That doesn't mean you need a full soundtrack on day one. It means music works best when it grows with the game. Here is roughly what that looks like.

While you're finding the game

In the early prototype stage, nobody needs finished music. What helps is a conversation: what the game is about, what it should feel like, and what makes it different. A composer can write one short theme or a mood sketch at this point. It is a cheap way to test a direction, and it often helps the whole team describe the game to each other.

When you have a vertical slice or a demo

This is the moment most teams wish they had started. A demo, a festival build or a pitch to a publisher is often the first time people outside the team play the game, and music does a lot to make a rough build feel finished. A main theme, music for the area in the demo and a few short stingers usually go a long way.

When you start showing the game

A store page trailer or an announcement video is usually the first time players hear your game. If the trailer uses music from the actual soundtrack, the game starts building its own identity from the very first clip. That is one reason we like to write trailer music for the games we score, rather than treating the trailer as a separate job.

During full production

Now the soundtrack grows with the content: new areas, combat, cutscenes, menus. Regular check-ins matter more than big deliveries. Hearing music in the game as it is built is how you catch problems early, such as a loop that gets tiring, or a track that fights with sound effects.

Before launch

The last stretch is for polish: final mixes, making sure levels are consistent, and fixing the small moments that only show up in a full playthrough. If music only starts here, there is no time left for this part, and it shows.

A note on temp music

Many teams put placeholder music from other games or films into their builds while they work. That's completely normal, and it can be a useful reference. The catch is that after hearing the same track a hundred times, it can start to feel like the only right answer. If you use temp music, tell your composer what you like about it, and treat it as a starting point rather than a target.

If your budget is small

Starting early doesn't have to mean spending more. A common approach is to begin with a main theme and the music for your demo, and grow the soundtrack as the project grows. Planning it this way also tends to cost less than rushing everything at the end.

If you're not sure where your game is on this list, just write to us. Telling you honestly what you need right now, and what can wait, is part of the conversation.