If you’ve played a Blizzard game from World of Warcraft’s earlier expansion The Burning Crusade onwards, you’ve probably heard music by Russell Brower (unless you’re one of those heathens that doesn’t listen to music in video games). Now, we’ve learned the composer has been laid off at Blizzard.

The composer announced on Facebook that his job has been eliminated, due to the success of Blizzard’s ongoing effort to “de-centralize” the sound direction in their games moving forward.

“As the company has grown, the topography of the Sound team has adjusted accordingly, and the last couple of years have been no exception,” he wrote. “With the success of a ‘sound de-centralization’ initiative, my current position of overall Sr. Audio Director/Composer is no longer relevant and is being eliminated.”

The good news, however, is that Brower notes there’s an “excellent chance” that he’ll continue to work on Blizzard games as a freelancer. This is similar to other composers that earned their chops on Blizzard games like Matt Uelmen (Diablo, Diablo II), who later worked on The Burning Crusade as well.

“I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to EVERYONE reading this: all of our Players, Music Lovers, and the countless new friends I’ve made worldwide, for the incredible and indelible life experiences I have enjoyed while at Blizzard,” Brower wrote.

“Especially the Players—each of you have truly enriched our lives by playing our games, meeting us at #BlizzCon and #Nerdtacular, attending our music concerts the world over, enjoying our soundtrack albums and sheet music—the list goes on and on. We have so much to be proud of and I am truly grateful to each of you and to all my Blizzard colleagues for putting up with me over the last 12 years and teaching me so much.”

Prior to enlisting at Blizzard he worked at WBIE, NovaLogic, and even Disney, as well as having three Emmy Awards to boot. We’re sure he’ll find an awesome steady gig elsewhere, unless he goes freelance entirely.