Their music for video games depends on play:
In a few short years, as the visual effects and realism of video games have evolved, so too have their soundtracks — from comical bleeps and annoying loops of ear candy to lush, epic soundtracks that instantly adapt to fit whatever a player decides to do. With an expected $50 billion in global sales this year, video games have turned into such a big business that established composers from film and television are signing on to create the sweeping scores and intricate sounds that help guide players through their missions.Harry Gregson-Williams, who scored Shrek, created the music for the action game Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Steve Jablonsky, the composer for Transformers, wrote music for the Sims and Gears of War 2. Danny Elfman, whose theme music for the 1989 Batman movie won him a Grammy Award, scored the role-playing adventure game series Fable.
The gigs pay well: Composers can receive as much as $2,000 for each minute of music they write, with a typical game requiring 60 to 90 minutes of music. Including the allowance for hiring musicians, renting recording studios and post-production work, the music budgets for top-notch games can reach as high as half a million dollars.