Jesper Kyd

Developer BIO

Jesper Kyd composes award-winning electronic and symphonic soundtracks for video games and movies. His powerful blend of ambient, electronic and classical orchestrations enhances the emotional and dramatic impact of each production and his ability to constantly raise the bar for cinematic, immersive music for the visual medium is a trademark of his scoring career.

His distinctive mix of memorable themes, urban soundscapes and ethnic instrumentation for the first Hitman video game, Hitman: Codename 47 is revered as a classic amongst fans; "The theme song to the original Hitman is arguably one of the best pieces of video game theme music so far this decade," MP3.com recently declared. Likewise, the Hitman 2: Silent Assassin score, recorded with 110 musicians of the Budapest Symphony Orchestra and Choir, is regarded by many critics as some of the best music ever recorded for the genre; "The music of most big budget action movies won't move you like the music of Hitman 2," said IGN.

Kyd's heroic and densely atmospheric music for the epic action/adventure Freedom Fighters further established him as one of the leading, innovative A-list composers in interactive entertainment. Described by Film Score Monthly Magazine as "Vangelis on steroids" his score for Freedom Fighters won GameSpot's coveted "Best Original Music Award" and was nominated for "Best Use of Soundtrack" at the Billboard Digital Entertainment Awards, as well as two nominations for "Best Original Vocal Song – Choral" ('Main Title' and 'March of the Empire') at the Game Audio Network Guild Awards.

His unique fusion of modern electronica and brooding symphonic and choral grooves featured in Hitman: Contracts garnered international critical acclaim as one of the truly groundbreaking original soundtracks and was awarded "Best Original Music" by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts at the 2005 BAFTA Games Awards and won "Best Cinematic / Cut-Scene Audio" at the 2005 G.A.N.G. Awards. "Many have tried to turn a video game soundtrack into a musical experience. But few have succeeded in creating a coherent, satisfying listening experience as well as Jesper Kyd," noted EQ Magazine.

Jesper Kyd's other works include the modern anime video game score for Robotech: Invasion and the cinematics for Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory directed by Andy Davis (The Fugitive, Under Siege, Collateral Damage). Other works include the original soundtrack for Hitman: Blood Money, featuring a bombastic live orchestral and choral score recorded with 150 musicians of the Budapest Symphony Orchestra and Hungarian Radio Choir, with additional electronic music; the fantasy MMORPG The Chronicles of SpellBorn, and the sci-fi epic Unreal Tournament 2007. He is also scoring a next generation title for Ubisoft.

Websites

• Jesper Kyd -- Jesper Kyd's official site

Games Credited

Assassin's Creed (Director's Cut Edition) (2008), Ubisoft, Inc.
Assassin's Creed (2007), Ubisoft, Inc.
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (2007), Eidos, Inc.
Unreal Tournament III (2007), Midway Home Entertainment, Inc.
Close Quarters Conflict (2006), Groove Games
Hitman: Blood Money (2006), Eidos Interactive Ltd.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (2005), Ubisoft, Inc.
Dance Dance Revolution: Ultramix 2 (2004), Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.
Hitman: Contracts (2004), Eidos, Inc.
Brute Force (2003), Microsoft Game Studios
Freedom Fighters (2003), Electronic Arts Ltda.
Wirtschaftsgiganten (2003), JoWooD Productions Software AG
Hitman 2: Silent Assassin (2002), Eidos Interactive, Inc.
Minority Report: Everybody Runs (2002), Activision Publishing, Inc.
The Nations Gold Edition (2002), JoWooD Productions Software AG
LightWeight Ninja (2001), Stardock Systems, Inc.
The Nations (2001), JoWooD Productions Software AG
Hitman: Codename 47 (2000), Eidos Interactive, Inc.
MDK 2 (2000), Interplay Entertainment Corp.
Messiah (2000), Interplay Entertainment Corp.
Amok (1996), GT Interactive Software Europe Ltd.
Scorcher (1996), GT Interactive Software Corp.
Red Zone (1994), Time Warner Interactive, Inc.
Sub-Terrania (1993), SEGA Enterprises Ltd.
Battle Stations (1990), Innerprise Software, Inc.