Sakurai can’t imagine Smash Bros. without him, thinks it’s going to take some time to figure out how to make another one happen

Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai has shared his thoughts in the future of the series, including his involvement.

In a new video published to YouTube today, he mentioned that he “can’t really imagine a Smash Bros. title without me.” Sakurai added that, currently, there isn’t someone that could “take the reigns” from him.

He’d go on to share his personal opinion that Smash Bros. will eventually get another game at some point, especially given its importance to Nintendo. But he concluded that “it’s going to take some work to figure out exactly how to make that happen.”

Sakurai stated:

“The question is, what happens next time? 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. I feel the same way president Iwata did when we formed the team for Smash Bros. Brawl. At present, we don’t have someone who can simply take the reigns…

Smash Bros. is a massive, important title 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. For my part, I’d like to keep working with Nintendo however I’m able.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate released for Switch in December 2018. DLC finished with Sora in October 2021.

You can check out the full video from Sakurai here. Most of it talks about how Super Smash Bros. Brawl and the team behind it came to be.