Masahiro Sakurai will reportedly be making a new Super Smash Bros game for Nintendo after he finishes his “passion project” in Kirby Air Riders.
Smash creator Sakurai had stepped away from game development following Sora’s release as the final DLC fighter for Smash Ultimate and then began working on his beloved YouTube channel.
He didn’t stay semi-retired for long, however, as the legendary game developer confirmed he was working on a new project, which turned out to be Kirby Air Riders.
Well, according to Reece ‘Kiwi Talkz’ Reilly, a YouTuber who has interviewed many game devs, Sakurai has yet another Smash title in the works after Kirby Air Riders and used that game as a bargaining chip with Nintendo.
New Super Smash Bros game on Switch 2 reportedly planned
According to Kiwi Talkz, Sakurai was burned out after spending so many years working on Super Smash Bros games and wanted to make a sequel to Kirby Air Ride on the GameCube.
“As a negotiating tactic offered to do another Smash if he could do Kirby Air Riders first,” Kiwi Talkz said. “Nintendo are in a bind with Smash Bros as Sakurai is irreplaceable currently. Everything in regards to the negotiation from Sakurai and Nintendo is a source.”
The YouTuber doesn’t believe that a new Smash game is in development at the moment and that work will only begin once Kirby Air Riders, Sakurai’s “passion project” is finished.
“Maybe Bandai Namco could be doing pre-production on it, but unlikely. Sakurai is so instrumental to planning these out (especially on the third party negotiations.) The level of respect and clout he has in the industry can’t be underestimated.”
Notably, Smash Ultimate introduced a ton of third-party characters such as Steve from Minecraft, Tekken’s Kazuya, Sora, Final Fantasy 7’s Sephiroth, Joker from Persona, and many more.
It’s still unknown exactly what this new Smash game will look like and if it will be a “deluxe” version of Ultimate or a proper sequel.
