Track Focus: Game Audio
How do sound, space, and interactivity merge to shape the emotional and sensory experience of play? At Sonic Days 2025, the Game Audio track explores how creative and technical innovation define the next generation of interactive storytelling.
This year’s programme gathers leading voices in game sound—audio directors, designers, and technologists—who reveal how cinematic soundscapes, spatial mixing, and adaptive music expand the boundaries of immersion. From the sonic legacy of Indiana Jones to Hazelight’s emotional co-op worlds and the experimental sound architecture of Cairn, these sessions uncover the craft, theory, and collaboration behind today’s most compelling audio experiences. Among the highlights, you can experience:
Pete Ward
Audio Director Pete Ward takes audiences behind the scenes of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, revealing how the team brought the franchise’s legendary sound world into an interactive format. From Indy’s whip to the orchestral score, Pete explores how classic motifs were reimagined for player-driven storytelling. With more than two decades of experience on titles like Battlefield, Need for Speed, and Harry Potter, he shares how nostalgia and innovation can coexist in one of the year’s most ambitious adventure games.
Philip Eriksson
As Audio Director at Hazelight, Philip Eriksson draws on a background spanning live sound, film, and interactive media. Having worked on Star Wars Battlefront and Battlefield, he now leads the audio vision behind Split Fiction, Hazelight’s latest co-op title following the acclaimed It Takes Two. His session explores how dynamic sound supports collaboration, emotion, and narrative flow—preceded by a casual hands-on event hosted by Audiokinetic, where attendees can experience the game together before his in-depth talk.
Martin Stig Andersen
Renowned for LIMBO, INSIDE, and Control, Martin Stig Andersen is known for redefining how music and sound shape gameplay. In his session on Cairn, the upcoming title from The Game Bakers, he and Lead Sound Designer Lukas Julian Lentz—moderated by Alistair Hirst—unpack the creative techniques behind the game’s immersive audio world. Expect insights into decorrelated 7.1.4 asset creation, POV-responsive mixing, and the psychological use of sound to place players inside the climber’s mind.