"We must change our methods": Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai says game development has become "too time consuming and unsustainable"

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"To be honest, it's hard to see what the future holds"

Masahiro Sakurai with his dead Xbox 360
(Image credit: Masahiro Sakurai)

Kirby and Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai has spoken about the current state of game development and why he believes it is becoming "unsustainable."

You rarely hear much about developers when it comes to Nintendo games, but Masahiro Sakurai is well known as a workaholic. From 2012 until 2021, he worked on Super Smash Bros. non-stop between the 3DS, Wii U, and Switch editions, in the midst of suffering from calcific tendonitis. And in the five months he had off in between finishing up with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and his then-unknown next project – which was revealed to be Kirby Air Riders in the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct – he created two-and-a-half years' worth of content for a YouTube channel.

Scott McCrae
Scott McCrae
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Scott has been freelancing for over three years across a number of different gaming publications, first appearing on GamesRadar+ in 2024. He has also written for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, VG247, Play, TechRadar, and others. He's typically rambling about Metal Gear Solid, God Hand, or any other PS2-era titles that rarely (if ever) get sequels.

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