FromSoftware Composer Yuka Kitamura Goes Freelance

Yuka Kitamura the Iconic FromSoftware Composer is leaving the company to go freelance. Learn more here.

Yuka Kitamura is leaving FromSoftware effective immediately to go Freelance. The 33-year-old announced her departure earlier today on her personal Twitter (or do we call it X now?) and that she would now start looking for work as a freelancer.

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

While it is not unusual for composers to work as freelancers, Kitamura who is still relatively young has amassed an impressive catalog during her time with FromSoftware.

The reasons for her departure are still unclear, it has probably something to do with the upcoming release of Armored Core 6: Flames of Rubicon. With its development wrapping up, she may have decided that now is the best time to spread her wings and see what she can do outside of FromSoft.

We have no doubt that she'll land on her feet, she is amongst the very best in the industry today and we can not wait to see what her next projects will look like.

Yuka Kitamura, Industry Icon

Kitamura had been with FromSoft for well over a decade. Her name is featured in titles such as Armored Core Verdict Day, Dark Souls II and Dark Souls III, Bloodborne, Sekiro, and most recently Elden Ring.

Whenever you hear a song in those games that includes heavy usage of string instruments, the chance is high that Kitamura composed it. Even amongst soundtracks already dripping with an atmosphere that could best be described as haunting, her work always stuck out.

Be it the tragedy conveyed in the theme of the Abyss Watchers or the Slave Knight Gael. The oddly beautiful composition accompanies the encounters with Ebrietas, Daughter of the Cosmos, or Lady Maria. And who could forget the grand symphony that accompanies Malenia‘s horrifyingly beautiful ascendance to godhood?

And if you were to peruse her personal Soundcloud work, you'll see that she has a lot more to give than the dark and dreary sounds of a souls-borne title.

This bears repeating, but Yuka Kitamura is one of the greatest talents in this space and we would love to see her of her in the near future. We wish her all the good luck in the world in her future endeavors.