Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai has now completed his YouTube series and revealed that he’s been working on a new game.
Sakurai revealed that he had the opportunity to write a game proposal as early as 2021, when he was working on DLC for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and completed the proposal at “lightning speed.”
“I’m sorry I can’t share more information about the project, but assuming we can make it happen, sooner or later there should be an announcement,” he said in his latest video.
Then, despite receiving permission to continue working on new projects, Sakurai realized that building a team would take time.
That left the Super Smash Bros. boss with a few months before production could begin, and he saw it as the perfect opportunity to launch a YouTube channel. And that’s why it’s surprising that all 260 episodes he aired were pre-recorded during this time.
Sakurai launched the channel in 2022, with video editing outsourced to another company. However, he said that in the past two years, he has been busy making games during the day and managing YouTube channels at night.
In total, Sakurai spent around 90 million yen (approximately £460,000) on the channel, most of which was spent on video editing companies.
So, what exactly is his mysterious new project? Sakurai did not disclose any information.
Of course, fans are speculating that Sakurai is busy developing a new Super Smash Bros. game for Switch 2, but could it be something else? New Kirby or Baby Icarus game?
The final episode of Sakurai’s series details the creation of the channel, his lifestyle over the past two years, and data on his viewing habits.
“I’ve reached an age now where I don’t know when I will decide to quit the gaming industry,” Sakurai concluded. “And there’s no guarantee I’ll be in good health. With that in mind, I’m glad I took the opportunity to leave my legacy behind in a format that’s going to be more than just another game.”
Last week, Sakurai released the final Grab Bag video on his channel: a tribute to former Nintendo president Satoru Iwata.
Eurogamer’s 2018 review of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate said: “This is one of the richest and most exciting games on the Switch, with a chaotic combination of detail and features.”