After Elden Ring, Sekiro, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne, a key member of FromSoft is saying goodbye to the studio

If there’s one thing fans and non-fans of FromSoftware agree on, it’s that the studio’s games contain some stellar music. Even as early as the Dark Souls series, through Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Bloodborne all the way to Elden Ring you’d be hard pressed to find a single game without its own list of iconic tracks.

But while the music is well-recognised, the name behind much of that body of work sadly may not be. Yuka Kitamura is a longtime FromSoftware composer, whose name should be quite familiar to anyone who counts the studio’s work among their favourites.

Having been a core part of the storied Japanese team for 12 years, Kitamura is sadly moving on. The legendary composer announced her departure on Twitter, confirming that she’ll continue to compose music – just in a freelance capacity.

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

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“I would like to continue to express myself in game music through various genres of music. I hope you will look forward to my music in the future!” she added.

“Thank you all for your continued support.”

Kitamura created a website where you can follow her work, and it does, of course, list all the games she contributed to at FromSoftware. The composer started with Dark Souls 2 and Armored Core: Verdict Day, and have worked on every game since, including Elden Ring.

It’s not clear whether she also composed for the upcoming Shadow of the Erdrtree DLC, though it is not referenced on her website. Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon is also conspicuously missing, indicating that she may not have worked on that game either.

Nevertheless, we wish Kitamura all the best in her future endeavours. If you’re in the mood for something different from the composer, her website has a few pieces of non-game music. For her work on FromSoftwware’s games, YouTube has you covered.