Martin Stig Andersen

Martin Stig Andersen (born 1973) is a Danish composer and sound designer, best known for his work on the video games Limbo and Inside, as well as contributions to Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus.

Martin Stig Andersen
Born	1973 (age 51–52)
Genres	Ambient industrial video game music
Occupations	Composer sound designer
Website	martinstigandersen.dk

Career

Andersen studied orchestral composition at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus, Denmark. After graduating in 2003, he went on to study electro-acoustic composition at City University in London.^[1] Andersen cited spectral composers such as Tristan Murail as inspiration.^[2]

In 2010, he served as composer and sound designer for Limbo, joining mid-development after an earlier sound designer left the project. For the game, Andersen focused on using abstract sounds to define the game's atmosphere.^[3] Following the release of Limbo, Andersen created and directed the audio for Inside and composed the soundtrack with SØS Gunver Ryberg, taking inspiration from 1980s horror films, often using synthesizers. The music was created by routing sound through a human skull, creating a "bone-conducting sound." As the game had closer integration between gameplay and audio, Andersen was more involved with the developers, with the player character's breathing being tied to the chest movement. Andersen was able to suggest changes to the game's structure, allowing the music to provide a coherent build-up.^[4]

Works

Year	Title	Notes	Ref.
2006	Seven Tales of Misery	Performance installation
	Ring Road A141	Short film	[5]
2009	The Finish Line	Short film	[6]
2012	Rocketman	Short film	[7]
2010	Limbo	Also sound designer	[8]
2016	Inside	Composed with SØS Gunver Ryberg, also audio director	[9]
2017	Das Heuvolk	Performance installation	[10]
	Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus	Composed with Mick Gordon	[11]
2018	Shadow of the Tomb Raider	Ambient music design	[12]
2019	Wolfenstein: Youngblood	Composed with Tom Salta	[13]
	Control	Composed with Petri Alanko	[14]
2021	Back 4 Blood	Composed with Nathan Whitehead	[15]
2024	Braid: Anniversary Edition	Music and sound remastering, with Hans Christian Koch	[16]
2025	Cairn	Audio design	[17]

Albums

• Essential Tree Work (2001–2002)
• Sleepdriver (2004)
• Rabbit at the Airport (2006–2008)

Awards and nominations

Year	Ceremony	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
2011	British Academy Games Awards	Best Use of Audio	Limbo	Nominated
	Interactive Achievement Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design		Won	[18]
2016	The Game Awards	Best Music/Sound Design (shared with SØS Gunver Ryberg)	Inside	Nominated	[19]
2017	D.I.C.E. Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design		Nominated	[20]
	British Academy Games Awards	Best Music (shared with SØS Gunver Ryberg)		Nominated	[21]
		Audio Achievement		Nominated
	Game Audio Network Guild	Best Audio for an Indie Game		Won	[22]
		Audio of the Year		Nominated
		Best Interactive Score (shared with SØS Gunver Ryberg)		Nominated
		Best Audio Mix		Nominated
		Sound Design of the Year		Nominated
2018	New York Game Awards	Best Music in a Game	Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (shared with Mick Gordon)	Nominated	[23]
	D.I.C.E. Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition		Nominated	[24]
2020	D.I.C.E. Awards		Control (shared with Petri Alanko)	Won	[25]