Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Director Teases What's Next Following Sora

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai has teased what's next for not just the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch Lite, and Nintendo Switch OLED game, but for himself following the reveal of Sora, the game's final DLC character.  According to Sakurai, the game's development is wrapping up, which means he's about to have a lot more free time, as he's been heavily involved in the title's production since the moment development began. 

Speaking about this, Sakurai reveals the development of each DLC character begins with his proposal, which suggests he solely, or at least mostly, picks who will be DLC. That said, with how the development process of each character works, there's never a moment where a single character is in development at a single time until now with Sora. Since the release of the game, the team has apparently been constantly working on several characters at once, and Sakurai was apparently intimately involved in every step of this process. 

According to Sakurai, all that remains now is PR, managing events, and some balancing. As a result, the staff is slowly starting to leave the project behind, presumably for a well-earned break and to work on the team's next project, whatever that is.

As for Sakurai himself, he says that when work is fully completed, he would like to drive around Japan, however, he's not sure if he will be able to do this due to COVID restrictions and his commitment to his cat, Fukura. 

In short, while the PR and marketing team are still very busy with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, it sounds like the rest of the team is working on balancing, taking a break, or moving on to the next project. That said, it's important to emphasize the fact that all of this comes through translation of a Famitsu column via Push Dustin. The translator has proven reliable in the past, but it doesn't completely negate the fact that vital information and context may be lost in translation. 

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is available, worldwide, via the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch Lite, and Nintendo Switch OLED. For more coverage on the best-selling and critically-acclaimed platform fighter -- including all of the latest news, rumors, leaks, and speculation -- click here.