The music for the 2013 action role-playing game Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, developed and published by Square Enix, was composed by Masashi Hamauzu, Naoshi Mizuta, and Mitsuto Suzuki. Hamauzu was the leader composer for XIII and XIII-2, and Mizuta and Suzuki previously composed music for XIII-2. Musicians who had previously worked with the composers on XIII-2 and The 3rd Birthday worked on the project in Japan, while the main soundtrack was performed and recorded in Boston by the Video Game Orchestra, conducted by Shota Nakama. Along with including more percussion and ethnic elements, the soundtrack used "Blinded by Light", the main theme for main character Lightning, as a leitmotif. Unlike the previous XIII games, the soundtrack did not include a theme song, as the composers felt it would detract from the emotional impact of the ending.
Three albums have been released: the promotional Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Pre Soundtrack in July 2013, the Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Original Soundtrack in November, and Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Soundtrack Plus in March 2014. The music has received a mostly positive response from reviewers. The main soundtrack, despite some tracks being critiqued, was generally praised as a good selection of music and a fitting conclusion to the music of the Final Fantasy XIII series. It was also praised by reviewers of the game as a whole. The Soundtrack Plus album was reviewed less favorably. Both commercial albums sold well enough to be placed on the Oricon charts, with the Original Soundtrack reaching #29 and remaining on the charts for four weeks.