Masahiro Sakurai Started Work on a New Game in April 2022 - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 November 2024 / 2,171 Views
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director and Sora Ltd. president Masahiro Sakurai in the last episode of the "Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games" YouTube channel revealed he started working on a new in April 2022.
This does mean the new game has been in development for two and a half years and Sakurai stated, "it should be announced sooner or later."
Sakurai revealed all the footage before the final episode "was recorded over two and a half years ago."
"It was around July of 2021. I was busy working on the downloadable content for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. To be precise, I was putting together the video for ‘Mr. Sakurai Presents: Kazuya.’ Sora was in development too, of course. Oh, and by Sora, I mean the fighter. Not the company [Sora Ltd.] you may have heard of.
"While I was busy working on those tasks, I received a request to write a game proposal, which I finished at lightning speed. I’m sorry I can’t share more about this project, but assuming we’re able to get it made, it should be announced sooner or later.
"Then, in late October of 2021, Sora was released, and my work commitments were more or less wrapped up. There was, of course, that new game proposal I had written. I’d been given the OK to move forward with production, but it was going to take some time to assemble the right team. The target timeframe was [starting] April 2022. Until then, I would have to wait.
"Up to this point, I had always gone directly from one job to the next. Directors tend to stay involved in projects longer than anyone else. As one job approaches the finish line, you’ll often be getting ready for the next one—so you never get to rest. Yet after all these years, by some miracle… my schedule was wide open for several months straight!
"My next job was decided, and I was done getting ready for it, but the team hadn’t been assembled yet—leading to this longer-than-usual gap. What a lucky break! It was time for some fun! Maybe a trip around the world? Well, I can’t do that because of [my cat] Fukurashi.
"Recently, she’s started getting really lonely whenever I go out. Still, I finally had some time off. I could have used it to recharge, but I felt as though this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. So I ended up using that time to plan out this very YouTube channel.
"[By April 2022, when the channel launched] the game project I’ve mentioned had already started production, so as I’d prepared for, I had to work on both ventures at once."
Thanks, Gematsu.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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Alright. So ready for Kirby Air Ride 2.
Kirby Air Ride: City Trail mode was amazing. One of my fav games of all time. I played this for years, it's so addictive. I'm glad someone out there feels what I feel :D
Kid Icarus Uprising remaster/remake or a sequel please
He didn't deny Smash this time, but he said earlier this year that he wasn't working on Smash. So, unless he was lying earlier, it's not Smash.
It's probably not Smash. I could see Switch 2 having Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DX within the first year and Super Smash Bros. 6 coming out in 2028-2029.
Since the proposal was written amidst smash ultimate development I think this is a title in another series and the most likely candidate is a new Kid Icarus game imo.
Super Smash Bros. Omega confirmed?
glancing at Sakarai's history in developing games, I think it's safe to assume this is Smash Bros for NSW2. (I don't anticipate Nintendo would be too interested in having him working on anything else, esp when they'll be needing a new Smash Bros for the upcoming system.)
Curious to see how hands-on Sakaria will be for this entry. He mentions having reached an age where "good health isn't guarenteed". I suspect this means we'll be seeing a lot fo fresh talent working on this game under the mentorship of Sakarai.
Essay Pro