Super Smash Bros. Boss Plans to Retire YouTube Project This Year
Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games will soon end, so what's next for the director?
In August 2022, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai launched a YouTube channel titled Creating Games. Over the last year and a half, the channel has drawn significant interest, as Sakurai has used the channel to reveal behind the scenes details, and showcase his passion for the video game medium. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and Sakurai has announced that the channel will be coming to an end sometime in 2024. No reason was given for the announcement, and we don't know a specific end date at this time.
It's a bit late to be saying this, but...Happy New Year," Sakurai wrote on the channel's community page. "I'm planning to wrap up Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games sometime this year. Until then, I hope you'll stay tuned!"
Sakurai has shown a lot of enthusiasm for the video series, which makes it all the more surprising that he's wrapping things up. One reason could be the cost. Last year, Sakurai's channel had a crossover with Retro Game Master. In a separate post on the community page, Sakurai noted that his "wallet certainly felt the impact" of that crossover when accounting for "studio fees, editing fees, translation fees, two copies of each game, and so forth."
The Next Super Smash Bros.
Another possible reason for the channel ending could be that Sakurai has started to work on the next game in the Super Smash Bros. franchise. Sakurai and Nintendo have been tight-lipped about the future of the series since the release of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's final DLC fighter back in 2021. The addition of Sora to the game's roster marked the end of major new content for the Nintendo Switch fighter, and Sakurai has referred to himself as "semi-retired" ever since.
However, every Nintendo home console has played host to a Smash Bros. game since the franchise's debut in 1999, and a follow-up to Switch will reportedly release in the second half of 2024. If a new Nintendo console really is coming soon, it seems very likely that a new Smash Bros. game won't be far behind. Adding some fuel to the fire, recent job listings have also hinted that Bandai Namco's Studio 2 & Studio S might have started work on the next game in the series.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's New Spirits
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate hasn't gotten any more stages or fighters since Sora's release, but Nintendo will occasionally add new Spirits to the game. A new event will start on January 11th, and players will get a chance to encounter new Spirits from Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Pikmin 4, Splatoon 3, and The Legend of the Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. According to Nintendo, defeating them on the Spirit Board will get players "more gold than usual." The event will last for five days.
Do you think Sakurai is starting work on the next Smash Bros. game? Are you disappointed that his channel is ending? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!