Kirby game director says the “next stage” of Kirby is already in development

The “next stage” of Kirby is in development according to game director Shinya Kumazaki.

That statement has come from a new art book for Kirby Star Allies, which has just been released in Japan. The book not only gives us a detailed look at Nintendo's cutest mascot (sorry Pikachu), but also includes an interview with game director Shinya Kumazaki, along with an afterword (translated by NintendoEverything) from the celebrated director which talks about the future of Kirby.

Kumazaki's afterword says: “I still try new things at work every day, talking with my colleagues about where to take the series next. Together with them, even if only to please a single fan, we’re planning for the next stage of our future. The team is a culmination of the best aspects of the Kirby franchise, and we hope you’ll look forward to what we have coming next”.

Now that isn’t an official confirmation of a new Kirby game, but HAL Laboratory is a game studio so it’s not unreasonable to assume that if they’re working on the next stage of Kirby, then that next stage could well be a new Kirby game. The last mainline Kirby game, Kirby Star Allies, was released three years ago and, outside of the spin-off title Kirby Fighters 2, we haven’t seen or heard anything from Kirby since. 

Looking back at the series history, there is a pretty consistent stream of Kirby games releasing every few years, so we’re approaching overdue for Kirby’s next adventure. Hopefully we find out more at E3 2021, as Nintendo is confirmed to be attending the event.

Look back on our hungry friend’s history with our roundup of the best Kirby games.