Austin Wintory

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

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. He 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. 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. Originally, Monaco developer Andy Schatz sought out licensed music, but Wintory convinced Schatz he could create an original score. 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.

In Their Own Story

The Traveler ascends the final dune, the red scarf trailing behind like a ribbon of wind. As altitude increases, a solo cello begins to hum, layered by Wintory's design into a crescendo of strings. There are no words spoken here, only the swell of sound matching the climb. The music breathes with the player, rising and falling in time with the sand beneath their feet, guiding them toward the distant mountain peak.

Reader's Guide

Austin Wintory is known for scoring the video games Flow and Journey. He also composed the score for Monaco. He will compose music and conduct a live orchestra for a touring BAFTA Games in Concert starting in 2026.

Did You Know?

• Austin Wintory started learning piano at age ten after his teacher introduced him to composer Jerry Goldsmith.
• He conducted the Utah Symphony at age eighteen for a recording of 'Cosmos', which he later called 'atrocious garbage'.
• Wintory has composed over three hundred musical scores since 2003.
• The Journey soundtrack is the only video game soundtrack to date nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media.