Square Enix titles have a long standing reputation for solid musical scores, which have typically been furnished by internal composers; however, according to a report by Square Enix Music Online [thanks Kotaku], Square Enix disbanded their music unit at the end of 2009, affecting a half dozen composers at the team.
The affected composers (with selected works) are:
Masashi Hamauzu (Final Fantasy XIII, Dirge of Cerberus, SaGa Frontier II)
Junya Nakano (Final Fantasy X, Threads of Fate, Musashi: Samurai Legend)
Tsuyoshi Sekito (The Last Remnant, Dawn of Mana, Founder of The Black Mages)
Naoshi Mizuta (Final Fantasy XI, Final Fantasy Gaiden, Founder of The Star Onions)
Kumi Tanioka (Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, Chocobo Series, Code Age Commanders)
Takeharu Ishimoto (The World Ends With You, Dissidia, Compilation of Final Fantasy VII)
Hamauzu is apparently mulling a decision to found his own studio, while Nakano and Tanioka have become a part of Ge-on-dan, a sound alliance. The other composers apparently intend to retire.
Moving forward, Square Enix will rely more heavily on contracted composers for individual projects, much like most Western game development studios. The Japanese publisher has worked with former employees before on musical compositions, so there is a strong possibility they might tap some of the composers listed above for a future project.
