Key Takeaways
- Yasuaki Iwata has recently confirmed that he left Nintendo in July 2023.
- Iwata contributed to the compositions and arrangements in games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Animal Cross: New Horizons.
- Iwata indicates that he has been working on new projects since his departure.
Yasuaki Iwata, a composer who worked on some of the most-popular Switch games, has left his position at Nintendo. This departure from Nintendo does not mark the end of Iwata’s music career, though, as it is confirmed that he has new projects underway.
Iwata earned his first credits at Nintendo for his work on the musical arrangements in two Wii U games. Specifically, Iwata contributed to the music in Super Mario 3D World from 2013 and Mario Kart 8 from 2014. After those titles, Iwata shifted his focus to games that would ultimately release on the Nintendo Switch, and his compositions can be heard throughout The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Animal Crossing: New Hoirzons, and beyond.
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It seems that players should not expect to see Iwata’s name in the credits of future Nintendo games, though, as the composer has recently confirmed his departure from the company. In fact, Iwata indicates 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 Leaves Nintendo
While the specifics of that new direction are currently unknown, Iwata does indicate that he has been working on new projects since leaving Nintendo. This could mean that he has been preparing compositions for non-Nintendo games, or perhaps he has even been working on an album of his own. Whatever the case may be, fans may not have to speculate about Yasuaki Iwata‘s post-Nintendo activities for very long, as he states that he hopes to share some of his new projects in the “near future.”
Until then, players can enjoy Iwata’s work when visiting towns, Divine Beasts, and Kass in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Fans will also hear Iwata’s work any time they start up Animal Crossing: New Horizons, as he composed and arranged the game’s main theme, and at various points throughout the day. So too, Iwata’s music can be heard when racing on a variety of courses in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, including Donut Plains 3, Toad’s Turnpike, and Royal Raceway.
Players need not pull out their Nintendo Switches every time they want to listen to a Yasuaki Iwata composition, though, as some can be found on the new Nintendo Music app. For the uninitiated, that app is available to current Nintendo Switch Online members, and it features a variety of Nintendo music playlists. While it is recommended that lovers of video game music explore many of the available playlists, Iwata fans may want to turn their attention to playlists like Hyrule Life and Break Time.
Nintendo
- Date Founded
- September 23, 1889
- Headquarters
- Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan
- Parent Company
- Nintendo