Nintendo's main composer has left the company

Key conclusions

Yasuaki Iwata recently confirmed that he will be leaving Nintendo in July 2023.
Iwata has contributed to the compositions and arrangements of games such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Animal Cross: New Horizons.
Iwata reveals that he has been working on new projects since his retirement.

Yasuaki Iwata, a composer who has worked on some of the Switch's most popular games, has left his position at Nintendo. However, this departure from Nintendo does not mean the end of Iwata's music career, as he is confirmed to have new projects in the works.

Iwata received his first Nintendo credits for his work on musical arrangements for two Wii U games. Notably, Iwata contributed music to Super Mario 3D world since 2013 and Mario Kart 8 since 2014. After these titles, Iwata turned his attention to games that would eventually be released on the Nintendo Switch, and his compositions can be heard everywhere The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Animal Crossing: New Horizonsand so on.

Relatives

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It looks like players shouldn't expect to see Iwata's name in the credits of upcoming Nintendo games, as the composer recently confirmed his departure from the company. In fact, Iwata reveals that he left Nintendo in July 2023, and he describes his departure as “taking a step in a new direction.”

Zelda: Breath of the Wild & Animal Crossing: New Horizons composer is leaving Nintendo

While the specifics of this new direction are currently unknown, Iwata reveals that he has been working on new projects since leaving Nintendo. This could mean he was composing for non-Nintendo games, or maybe he was even working on his own album. Be that as it may, fans may not have to wonder long about Yasuaki Iwata's post-Nintendo activities, as he says he hopes to share some of his new projects in the “near future.”

Until then, players can enjoy Iwata's work by visiting Cities, Divine Beasts, and Cas y The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Fans will also hear Iwata's work every time they start Animal Crossing: New Horizonswhen he composed and arranged the main theme of the game, and at various times throughout the day. Iwata's music can also be heard during races on various tracks Mario Kart 8 Deluxeincluding Donut Plains 3, Toad's Turnpike and Royal Raceway.

However, players don't need to pull out their Nintendo Switch every time they want to listen to Yasuaki Iwata's music, as some of it can be found in the new Nintendo Music app. For the uninitiated, this app is available to current Nintendo Switch Online members and features a variety of Nintendo music playlists. While fans of video game music are encouraged to explore many of the playlists available, Iwata fans can turn their attention to playlists like Hyrule Life and Break Time.