Smash Bros director says "it's fair to assume there will be another one," and he can't imagine anyone else making it
Super Smash Bros. lead Masahiro Sakurai says another entry in the series is likely, but he's having a tough time imagining the series continuing without him.
"The question now is, what happens next time?" Sakurai muses in the latest episode of his YouTube game design series. "I mean whatever comes after Smash Bros. Ultimate. One option would be to separate the series itself from the original creator. But for now, at least, I can't really imagine a Smash Bros title without me. You might think that's a natural stance for someone in my role, but I say so speaking objectively."
Sakurai says that "Smash Bros. is a massive, important little for Nintendo, so it's fair to assume there will be another one at some point, but it's going to take some work to figure out exactly how to make that happen," Sakurai concludes. There's a rather prominent note that this is Sakurai's "opinion at the time of this video's release in 2023," so you shouldn't take it as gospel confirmation of plans for the series.
Sakurai has said in recent interviews that he's "semi-retired," but it's worth noting he's held a pretty non-traditional role in the industry since he founded his company, Sort Ltd, in 2005. He's effectively been a freelancer since then, directing games like Kid Icarus: Uprising and Super Smash Bros. in what amounts to a contract position.
With that in mind, it's a lot easier to imagine how Nintendo might greenlight a new Smash Bros without Sakurai's involvement. In fact, the company was prepared to do exactly that with Super Smash Bros. Brawl on Wii. Sakurai explains in today's video that when Brawl was announced at E3 2005, he had no idea the project was happening.
The late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata spoke to Sakurai a few days
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