Sony Faces Backlash for Excluding Until Dawn Game Writers from Film Credits

A former PlayStation narrative director is urging the Until Dawn movie team to recognize the game’s writers in the film’s credits.

As reported by Eurogamer, Kim MacAskill’s petition calls on Sony, a major player in gaming, to lead by example and update the Until Dawn credits, advocating for a fairer approach to crediting intellectual property in cross-media adaptations.

“I watched the Until Dawn film, where the director, writers, and others were credited, but Sony failed to acknowledge the key game developers who crafted this iconic game they’re clearly proud of, simply noting it as ‘based on the Sony game,’” MacAskill stated.

“They poured years into creating something extraordinary, and the world deserves to know their names. Instead, they received no credit, no gratitude, no recognition.”

In a LinkedIn post, MacAskill elaborated, questioning the disparity between HBO’s adaptation of Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us—which credits both the studio and Neil Druckmann as writer and director—and the Until Dawn movie.

She revealed that Sony executives told her the intellectual property she created would never bear her name, as she was a salaried employee with no rights to royalties, control, or acknowledgment. Addressing Sony, she wrote: “I struggle to understand why Neil Druckmann receives such recognition while others in your company do not.”

The creative director shared that when she inquired about her intellectual property rights, a Sony representative acknowledged her position but stated the company’s firm-wide policy prevented any such crediting, emphasizing it was “nothing personal.”

“All I sought was proper credit and a degree of ownership for adaptations,” she noted.

In her petition, MacAskill urged Sony to rethink its approach to crediting intellectual property, especially in transmedia projects. “Offering an executive producer credit or equivalent recognition would honor the creators whose vision and dedication birthed these remarkable stories and designs, reshaping the entertainment industry,” she wrote.

“Let’s champion not only the Until Dawn creators but the integrity of the industry. By ensuring creative voices are recognized, we can inspire future innovators to push beyond today’s limits. Sign this petition to press Sony and support game creators in securing deserved recognition in transmedia storytelling.”

In other news, we reported today that Until Dawn Remastered is likely among the PlayStation Plus games for May 2025, possibly to promote the new Until Dawn movie, released just before the weekend. The film fell short of expectations; in IGN’s Until Dawn movie review, we gave it a 5/10, noting: “Until Dawn disappoints more than it terrifies, abandoning the horror game’s potential for a mishmash of recycled horror-movie tropes.”