Sakurai posts final Smash screenshot, hints at new Twitter project

At the end of July, Masahiro Sakurai warned the Super Smash Bros. community that he was running out of screenshots from Ultimate. It seems that day has finally arrived.

Sakurai has been sharing screenshots from Ultimate since December 2019. Smash fans looked forward to the cheeky screenshots every day, which often depicted various Ultimate characters in unique situations that played off their abilities. Sakurai explained the screenshots were part of his “daily workday ritual,” which led some Smash players to say Sakurai deserved a rest from the routine.

It’s been a long-running joke that Sakurai needs rest. The hard-working and passionate game developer has reported being overworked in the past and has admitted to feeling overwhelmed by the Smash community’s constant speculations and scrutiny over everything he posted. When Ultimate “ended,” Sakurai was able to finally take a much-needed break, petting his cat and riding horses. But he couldn’t shake some of his Smash-related duties, like sharing the daily pictures.

His last image came out on Aug. 22, 2022. It simply showed a Smash Ball, an item that unlocks a character’s most powerful attack. Most Smash players don’t often see this beautiful, glowing sphere since items are often turned off in competitive settings. But nobody could complain about the simple yet flashy image.

But along with the image, Sakurai shared some interesting information.

“I’ve been thinking about starting something new,” Sakurai added.

This concludes the daily Smash Ultimate screens I've been posting since Dec. 2019.
Thank you for your support! #SmashBros

However…I've been thinking about starting something new. (This time it won't be daily, though.)

Check back around this time tomorrow for more info! pic.twitter.com/t8FSUwJa0A

— 桜井政博 / Masahiro Sakurai (@Sora_Sakurai) August 23, 2022

Sakurai clearly can’t stay away from his Smash-related work for long. He isn’t even giving himself a day off from posting. The tweet stated that the Smash community should check back tomorrow, August 23, around 8 PM PST to see what the new posts will be about. This time the posts won’t be daily, giving Sakurai some days off to just focus on his cat, but it seems this will be another ongoing Twitter trend.

So far, it’s a mystery what the new project will be. One Smash player joked that the new ritual will be removing one character from the roster each week. Of course, nobody knows what Sakurai has up his sleeve just yet.

Meanwhile, the Smash community expressed sadness over the screenshots coming to an end after all these years.