Masahiro Sakurai, the legendary designer behind Kirby and the Super Smash Bros. series, stated that he does not use generative artificial intelligence in his work, not even for brainstorming. The remarks were made at a Famitsu event celebrating the Japanese magazine’s 40th anniversary in Akihabara, Tokyo, on November 7, 2026, during the promotion of the book Masahiro Sakurai’s Thoughts on Games: Final.
Trust not yet earned
Sakurai explained that, as a designer whose main role is to create concepts, he does not turn to generative AI. “When it comes to problem solving, you can’t really put everything into prompts, but if you don’t, you’re going to end up with something sloppy,” he said. He noted that ideas alone are not enough — deadlines, team capacity, and costs must be considered. “Right now, I don’t really think it’s reached that point, so I’m not using it for anything.”
He confirmed the technology was not used in recent work, including Kirby Air Riders. For graphics, Sakurai said AI “still hasn’t earned the trust” of developers and “must not be turned into a means of exploitation.” He also argued it is still quicker to create everything by hand.
The industry is far too demanding
On the other hand, the designer warned that making games today is “far too demanding.” He cited that Kirby Air Riders required ten times the workload of Kirby Air Ride. Many titles, he said, still operate at a loss even after selling millions of copies.
“If you keep being fixated on the stance of not using generative AI because it’s not trustworthy as a technology, I think you could end up falling further and further behind. Compared to those who properly develop games, I believe those who use AI without any hesitation are likely to be able to create many more games. So, doing nothing could also be a bad idea,” Sakurai stated.
He described his own approach as cautious and “slow-paced,” with no definitive statements on future use, since “where and how to use it” is complex.
Prior context
These statements update earlier positions by Sakurai, in which he warned that AI would generate a wave of unoriginal and “unplayable” games, although human creativity — such as that of Fumito Ueda — cannot be replicated.
Sources
This content was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence and editorially reviewed by Grok.
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