Ryo Nagamatsu, longtime Nintendo composer, departs after 17 years

Music composer Ryo Nagamatsu announced his leave from Nintendo. As of April 30, he chose to go freelance in what he called a mutual split from the developer so he could "work more directly to help those who need my help and to help the industry."

Nagamatsu has been a composer on various Nintendo games for nearly 20 years, starting with Wii Play in 2006. From there, he did the music for games such as Wii Sports Resort, Splatoon 2 and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. 

Beginning with Mario Kart Wii in 2008, he contributed music to entries in Nintendo's flagship franchise such as Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Mario Kart 8. He's also been a composer on 2014's Super Smash Bros. 4 and 2018's Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and composed the music for Zelda's 30th anniversary concert. 

Nagamatsu's final game for Nintendo was last year's Splatoon 3, where he contributed music alongside fellow veteran composers such as Toru Minegishi, Shiho Fujii, and Yumi Takahashi.