It hasn’t even been a week since the arrival of the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct, and people have been talking about everything that was announced during it…and what wasn’t announced during it. Obviously, there was plenty of discussion of the hardware, including how the graphics look, how parts of the console were “redesigned from the ground up,” how voice chat and webcam features are built into the system, and so on. There was also plenty of talk about the software and what games were announced for this year and next. One of those games wasn’t Super Smash Bros, though, and that’s got many fans concerned.
You may have seen various posts questioning whether we’ll get a new title in the fighting game franchise or if Masahiro Sakurai will return to it at all due to his announcement of being the director of Kirby Air Riders. While we don’t have any answers for you in the definitive sense, it is important to remember some key details before panicking.
For example, Sakurai has literally spent the last several years, including almost the entire Switch’s lifetime, working on Super Smash Bros titles. He did the Wii U and Switch developments back-to-back. He pushed his body to the limit, working on both the main games and the DLC content. That alone gives him the right to “take a step back” and work on something else for a change.
Second, Sakurai is the creator of Kirby and his original games. He hasn’t worked on a title in the series in about 20 years, so this is a true “welcome home” moment that fans should be thrilled about, especially since you know that Masahiro Sakurai is all about putting quality into gaming titles and thus will give his all to make sure this new Kirby game shines.
Another thing to remember is that the last game in the Super Smash Bros wasn’t announced in the first year. It was announced in 2018! Plus, as many fans have rightfully noted, only a very small handful of 1st party franchises were shown off in the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct. That means that it’s not just this series that has a question mark around it; there are plenty more that have it, too! It’s easy to focus on this one because of how much it means to fans, but Sakurai himself said that IF there’s another entry in the series, it won’t be as big as the Switch version.
So, patience is required here. It’s likely to come, it just won’t come out right now or likely next year.
