Austin Wintory (born September 9, 1984) is an American composer for film and video games. He is known for scoring the video games Flow and Journey, the latter of which made history as the only video game soundtrack to date to be nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media.
Early life Austin Wintory was born in Denver, Colorado in 1984 and started learning piano when he was ten years old, after his teacher introduced him to composer Jerry Goldsmith. Before the age of ten, Wintory did not play any instruments and barely listened to music. By the age of sixteen, Wintory started writing for and conducting the Cherry Creek High School Orchestra during their performances of the "Spirit of the Cosmos" pieces. Two years later, at the age of eighteen, Wintory conducted the Utah Symphony during its recording of "Cosmos", which became one of his most popular projects, although he refers to it as "atrocious garbage". Since 2003, Wintory has composed over three hundred musical scores.
Career Beginning of game composing career and Flow
Wintory met Jenova Chen while both attended the University of Southern California (USC). After networking with an interactive media student at USC and scoring a small game project, his name was passed along to Chen, who asked Wintory to score his thesis project, Flow, later re-released on PlayStation Network. Wintory, Chen and Nick Clarke developed the first version of Flow as a three-man team, with Wintory remarking that Chen had an incredible way of processing information, seeing far beyond code and reaching into the emotional implications of things. As a traditional orchestral student at the time, Wintory considered the music of Flow was radically unlike any he had written before. Wintory regards the pink area of the game, where the player controls a jellyfish-like creature, as the humorous area of the game, describing his music for it as almost "circus-like" compared to the overall soundtrack.
Monaco Originally, Monaco developer Andy Schatz sought out licensed music as a backdrop to the game's setting, feeling that the style of music needed was too esoteric to hire a composer. Wintory, however, was able to convince Schatz that he could create an original score that fit the project's vision. Likening 2D sprite-based games to the silent film era, Wintory agreed with the notion that the soundtrack to a game like Monaco should have an earnest yet self-aware nostalgic feeling, stating "There's no way to just objectively listen to that style of music without automatically being like 'This reminds me of a bygone era.'" Wintory was excited at the chance to create an old-timey score with wit and humor, stating "when else am I ever going to be asked to write anything remotely like this?"
Other works Wintory will compose the music and conduct a live orchestra for a touring BAFTA Games in Concert, to start in 2026 and featuring music from winners of the British Academy Games Awards.
Works
Film and TV +YearFilm 2004Nuts & BoltsOne Three Zero Blind VisionsMan ChildAlter EgoLove Parade 2005It's About UglinessNot Too Long AgoWe Gonna Get Ronald KimKeepsakes Painting AvaNew YorkTAG 2006Vollarians, Unite! Oleg's Overcoat Long After...The Sunset SkyProject: Illegal AlienHappy Days The Good ManThe Late Bloomer ConfessionsThe ProposalThe Professor's DaughterJohnny Montana 2007Mr. SadmanCaptain Abu RaedIf You Could HaveBack SoonSerpent and the Sun 2008Knuckle DraggersPrintGraceLive Evil3-Day WeekendThe AcquirerTK's CornerHubristic 2009A Little HelpThe Sunset SkyThe River Why The Echo Game Make the Yuletide Gay 2010A Beautiful GameLeavePlaying HouseMajidWorkshopLet the Game BeginThe Incredible Adventures of Jojo 2011RemnantsHome Run ShowdownThe Grief Tourist Junction 2012Strangely in Love InverseTargeting The War Around UsIt's a Disaster Lost on PurposeAftermath 2013TargetingInverse 2015The Flintstones & WWE: Stone Age SmackdownDark SummerTales of Halloween The RendezvousStandoff 2016After the Sun FellDiane Mercury Plains 2017LegacyThe Last Movie StarBullet Head 2018TreadBig Dogs 2019Clean 2020Born a Champion 2021One ShotIreA Violent Man 2022Thai Cave Rescue 2026 The Brink of War
Games Year Game Developer 2002 Ages of Athiria (Theme Only) Elysian Productions 2006 Flow Thatgamecompany2007 Flow Expansion Pack Thatgamecompany, Super Villain Studios GroundTruth: Toxic City Sandia Nat’l Lab, USC-Gamepipe Replay Take Action Games 2008 GroundTruth 2: Lock Down Sandia Nat’l Lab, USC-Gamepipe My Virtual Tutor 1st Playable Productions 2010 Census Draft FCB Super Awesome Mountain RPG Codename Games 2012 Journey Thatgamecompany Horn Phosphor GamesKinect PartyDouble Fine Productions2013 Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine Pocketwatch Games Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded N-Fusion Interactive Dropchord Double Fine Productions 2014 Soul Fjord Airtight Games Sunset Tale of Tales The Banner Saga Stoic 2015 The Order: 1886 (co-writer of The Knights theme, with Jason Graves) Ready at Dawn, Santa Monica Studio Assassin's Creed Syndicate Ubisoft QuebecThe Path to LumaPhosphor Games 2016 The Banner Saga 2 Stoic Abzû Giant Squid Studios 2017 Deformers Ready at Dawn Absolver Sloclap Tooth and Tail Pocketwatch Games Luna Funomena 2018 Pode Henchman & Goon The Banner Saga 3 StoicCommand and Conquer: RivalsElectronic Arts 2019 Erica Flavourworks, London Studio John Wick Hex Bithell GamesThe Bradwell ConspiracyA Brave Plan, Bossa Studios 2020 The Pathless Giant SquidAGOS: A Game of SpaceUbisoft2021Aliens: Fireteam EliteCold Iron Studios 2022Monaco 2Pocketwatch GamesHUSH - CraneFlavourworks 2023Strayed LightsEmbersStray Gods: The Roleplaying MusicalSummerfall Studios 2024BitCraft (Co-composed with Rachel Hardy)Clockwork Labs2025Eternal StrandsYellow Brick Games Sword of the Sea Giant SquidHades II (with co-composer Darren Korb)Supergiant Games
Awards + List of awards and nominationsYear Award Category Recipients and nominees Result2007British Academy Games Awards (BAFTAs) Innovation Flow (Jenova Chen, Nicholas Clark, Austin Wintory) 2012 Video game awardsBest Original Score JourneyBest Song in a GameInternational Film Music Critics Association AwardsOriginal Score for a Video Game or Interactive MediaSpike Video Game AwardsBest Song in a Game"I Was Born for This" – Journey 2013Game Developers Choice AwardsBest Audio Journey British Academy Games Awards (BAFTAs) Audio Achievement Original Music D.I.C.E. Awards Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition Grammy Awards Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media 2014 NAVGTR Awards Original Dramatic Score, New IP The Banner Saga International Film Music Critics Association AwardsOriginal Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media 2015 British Academy Games Awards (BAFTAs)Best MusicAudio AchievementSXSW Gaming AwardsExcellence in Musical Scoring Game Audio Network Guild AwardsMusic of the Year Assassin's Creed SyndicateBest Original Soundtrack AlbumBest Original Instrumental Assassin's Creed Syndicate – "The Assassin's Two Step" International Film Music Critics Association Awards Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive MediaAssassin's Creed Syndicate 2016AbzûThe Banner Saga 2 2017DeformersBest Original Score for an Action/Adventure/Thriller FilmThe RendezvousBritish Academy Games Awards (BAFTAs)Music AbzûD.I.C.E. AwardsOutstanding Achievement in Original Music CompositionGame Audio Network Guild AwardsBest Original Soundtrack 2018 Hollywood Music in Media Awards Original Score – Independent Film The Last Movie Star Original Score – Video Game Pode Original Song – Video Game "Only We Few Remember it Now" (The Banner Saga 3) 2019 Game Audio Network Guild AwardsBest Original SoundtrackPodeBest Original Song "Only We Few Remember It Know"The Banner Saga 3International Film Music Critics Association AwardsOriginal Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media Erica 2020 Game Audio Network Guild AwardsBest Interactive ScoreBest Original InstrumentalD.I.C.E. AwardsOutstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition 2021Game Audio Network Guild AwardsBest Music for an Indie Game The PathlessD.I.C.E. AwardsOutstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition2023Grammy Awards Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive MediaAliens: Fireteam Elite 2024Grammy AwardsStray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical 2026Grammy Awards Sword of the Sea D.I.C.E. AwardsOutstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition
References
External links
Austin Wintory on Twitter Press and interviews of Austin Wintory Discography at VGMdb MobyGames rap sheet