‘Elden Ring’ composer Yuka Kitamura leaves FromSoftware

Yuka Kitamura, composer of Elden Ring, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Bloodborne and other FromSoftware titles, announced her departure from the developer on Tuesday (August 1).

• READ MORE: ‘Elden Ring’ hides FromSoftware’s best lore behind its most formulaic set up

“I have decided to leave FromSoftware, the company I worked for, and to start working new as a freelance composer in this August,” she said in a post to X. She affirmed that she still would like to work within the games industry and pointed fans to her new website that promotes her previous compositions.

Thank you all for your continued support.
　
Today I have an announcement to make.
I have decided to leave FromSoftware, the company I worked for, and to start working new as a freelance composer in this August.

— Yuka Kitamura (@_Yuka_Kitamura_) August 1, 2023

Fans supported Kitamura in her latest venture but the overall feeling is one of heartbreak, as well as appreciation for her contributions to these games.

“Truly sad news. She is responsible for some of the most insane bangers in gaming history. Looking forward to hear more of her work in whatever she does next,” said one in response to the announcement.

Her stint with FromSoftware started with Armored Core: Verdict Day, which was developed for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2013. She then went on to work on Dark Souls 2 with Motoi Sakuraba and composed the soundtrack to its three expansions, The Lost Crowns.

On Dark Souls 3, she was the composer of the game as well as its The Ringed City and Ashes of Ariandel downloadable content (DLC) packs. Kitamura was one of the five composers attributed to Bloodborne‘s soundtrack and collaborated with Nobuyoshi Suzuki and Tsukasa Saitoh on The Old Hunters expansion.

Most recently, her Elden Ring compositions scored FromSoftware multiple nominations for best score, best music and best main theme in the awards season of 2022.

Including these, Kitamura also composed the soundtrack to the film Shibuya Shadow in 2019, which followed the story of a young man looking for his brother in Tokyo.

In other gaming news, Dimitri Vegas will play “The Drop” in Hitman in its latest Elusive Target event, and his character is described as a “DJ-turned-drug impresario bent on controlling the scene one way or another”.

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