As you might recall, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was the “final mission” assigned to Masahiro Sakurai by the late Satoru Iwata.
The Switch entry went on to become a huge success and has now sold over 25 million copies worldwide. After the game shipped, Sakurai’s “next mission” was to release all of the DLC, and he’s now also done that.
Has the mission finally been completed then? In an email interview with IGN, Sakurai confirmed he had completed Iwata’s assignment:
“Yes, I believe I was able to fully complete this mission.”
As for what’s next, Sakurai’s still not entirely sure about his future. In the same interview, he said if Nintendo asked him to make another Smash game, he would think about it.
At the same time, he “may not necessarily continue” down the path of creating more games, but could still stay within the games industry. He wants to “keep an open mind” and consider all the possibilities of what could come next.
At least now he has completed his “final mission” and we’re sure Iwata would be proud.