It would seem that patch 1.2.0 for Kirby Air Riders has begun its distribution process. This update fixed some issues involving certain events while also applying a few balance adjustments.
However, Masahiro Sakurai took this as an opportunity to remind fans , as previously stated, that there are no plans to provide post-launch support for Kirby Air Riders with DLC. Sakurai was upfront about this during the Kirby Air Riders Nintendo Direct.
“Just so you know: We’re not planning any DLC. Everything is here,” said Sakurai back then.
Evidently, the team has a limited number of opportunities to tweak certain things about Kirby Air Riders with the goal of making it into a game that can be enjoyed for years to come. Sakurai notes that they’ll probably only be able release about one more patch in the upcoming future, should the need arise.
Additionally, Sakurai mentioned that the development team that worked on Kirby Air Riders will be disbanding in the near future. Of course, new updates will be impossible without a team to actually work on them.
This declaration does seem to have some interesting implications. Sakurai seems to be implying that the he and Kirby Air Riders team won’t be sticking together to work on their next game project.
We learned early on that Bandai Namco was involved with the development process of Kirby Air Riders for the Switch 2. Bandai Namco had previously worked alongside Sakurai to develop Super Smash Bros. 4 (for the 3DS and Wii U) as well as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
“Just so you know: We’re not planning any DLC. Everything is here.” — Masahiro Sakurai
Indeed, it’s known that Bandai Namco has dedicated studios within the company, Studio 2 & Studio S, that were established for the purpose of developing Nintendo projects. The studio that worked on Kirby Air Riders will likely transition into a new Nintendo project in the near future.
Could a new Super Smash Bros. entry for the Switch 2 be on the horizon? Sakurai’s words that the Kirby Air Riders team will be disbanding soon does appear to go against this notion since it’s been speculated that Bandai Namco could return for the next title considering how successful Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was for Nintendo.
To this day, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has reported over 36.55 million sales worldwide since its release. Furthermore, the game is still being sold at full price.
It’s important to highlight that Sakurai has been known to be somewhat deceptive with his word choice. Previously, he made the interesting claim that he was semi-retired after Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC had wrapped up.
However, by the time Sakurai had made this statement, he had already prepared the game proposal “at lightning speed” for his secret game project, which we now know was Kirby Air Riders all along.
In the past, Sakurai has stated that fans shouldn’t automatically expect that a sequel to Super Smash Bros. could be in the works. Sakurai has made it a point that he always develops Super Smash Bros. as though it could be the final entry in the series.
He’s mentioned before how Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was a miracle as its “Everyone Is Here” theme almost didn’t happen. It will be especially difficult to follow up Super Smash Bros. Ultimate with another game, especially if Bandai Namco doesn’t return to act as the development studio behind such a game.
Of course, Sakurai has said before that if Nintendo ever tasked him with overseeing another project for the Super Smash Bros. series, it’s one that he’d place priority on. Over the years, Sakurai has worked with various development studios to create Super Smash Bros., so Bandai Namco’s involvement wouldn’t even be a necessity for the franchise to continue.
By this point, Sakurai likely already has a good idea of what he’ll probably end up working on next. Ultimately, it’ll probably be a few years before we find out if it’s another iteration within the Super Smash Bros. series or something else entirely.
