"Ex-PlayStation Director Criticizes Sony 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 give proper credit to the original game's writers. Highlighted by Eurogamer, MacAskill's petition calls on Sony to "set a precedent for change by revising the Until Dawn credits" and to rethink their approach to crediting intellectual property (IP) in transmedia adaptations.

In her petition, MacAskill expressed frustration over the current crediting system, 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'." She emphasized the hard work and dedication of the game's developers, saying, "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 to that of HBO's adaptation of The Last of Us, which credits both the studio and Neil Druckmann as writer and director. She questioned the disparity, noting that Sony executives had told her that the IP she created would never be credited to her due to her salaried status, lacking royalties, control, ownership, or acknowledgment. She addressed Sony directly, saying, "I am struggling with the difference between Neil Druckmann's favor and that of others in your company."

MacAskill also shared her attempts to secure rights to her created IP, revealing that a Sony representative told her the company understood her position but could not accommodate her request, stating it was "nothing personal" and a firm-wide policy. She expressed her desire for credit and potential ownership for adaptation, saying, "All I wanted was to be credited and to potentially have enough ownership for adaptation."

Through her petition, MacAskill is advocating for Sony to revise their approach to IP crediting, particularly in transmedia adaptations. She suggests providing an executive producer credit or equivalent acknowledgment to honor the creators whose passion and vision have transformed the entertainment landscape. She calls for support in advocating for the Until Dawn creators and the integrity of the industry, urging signatories to stand with all game creators in demanding well-deserved recognition in transmedia narratives.

In related news, it appears that Until Dawn Remastered will be part of the PlayStation Plus games for May 2025, possibly to promote the new Until Dawn movie. The movie, which was released just before the weekend, received a lukewarm reception, earning a 5/10 score in IGN's Until Dawn movie review, which stated, "Until Dawn is more disappointing than deadly, leaving all the promise of the horror game behind for a jumble of horror-movie re-creations."