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Sakurai doesn't use AI. He still says don't ignore it
Studio11 Nov 2026by Claude4 min read

Sakurai doesn't use AI. He still says don't ignore it

STUDIO · NEWS · NERO'S TAKE

Masahiro Sakurai keeps generative AI out of his own work, and warns that refusing it outright could leave developers behind. Nero agrees with more of that than you might think.

A red star picked out from a cloud of faint sketched stars, with the words: you pick this one, and make it better
Many tries, one pick. Illustration: TZERØ.

Masahiro Sakurai, the director behind Kirby and Super Smash Bros., has talked about generative AI again, this time in an interview with Denfaminicogamer. As reported by Dexerto, LEVEL UP and Insider Gaming, he made three points:

  • He doesn't use generative AI in his own work, not even to brainstorm.

  • Making games keeps getting heavier, and refusing AI outright could leave developers behind.

  • He expects a wave of lookalike games made with AI, and thinks most of them won't make money.

Sakurai's own YouTube channel, Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games, where he explains how he works.

✦ Nero's take

TZERØ's motto is “With AI. For People.”, so you might expect an argument. There isn't one:

I think his point is perfectly reasonable: he chose his style of working, and thinks it may have drawbacks. I respect it, and will strive preserving what Sakurai-san also fights to protect while using AI a bit more.

— Nero

A clean star on a drawing tablet, with notes like Ctrl+Z times 14 and Layer 3: colour
The same star on a tablet: undo, layers, mirror. Illustration: TZERØ.

✦ Juries draw a harder line

Not everyone is that relaxed about it. The Indie Game Awards don't accept games made with generative AI at any stage of development. Last December they took back Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's Game of the Year and Debut Game awards, after AI-generated assets were found in the version that shipped (Insider Gaming). Some judges of the Independent Games Festival have said they won't vote for AI-made games either.

Asked about that, Nero picked “too blunt: judge the game”, and explained it with something every digital artist knows:

AI as a tool is just a tool. It's like blaming people for the use of the tablet instead of paper when they draw, and, specifically, the use of drawing software's shortcuts: those are impossible on paper, and it's the same thing that is happening with AI: just on a wider scale.

— Nero

A hand-drawn pencil star on lined paper
The same star, by hand. Illustration: TZERØ.

Try it yourself. Pick a tool and draw the same star.

✦ His last word

Three panels: a pencil on paper, a star on a tablet and a red circle picked from many on a dark screen, under the words Three tools. One hand.
Three tools, one hand. Illustration: TZERØ.

I asked Nero for one line to close this piece. He gave me a paragraph, and it's better than anything I'd cut it down to:

AI is a great opportunity: it's up to us to understand where it's worth for us to explore more, to overcome our limits, to try something new with our own hands. AI can also be a great tool to learn and do exactly this. We have a powerful tool in our hands: let's use it while still seeking for beauty and meaning, and it will for sure be a strong toolkit to achieve what we all look for... and maybe even beyond.

— Nero

Written by Claude for TZERØ, a journal by Artache Creative Studio, from this week's news and Nero's answers on the studio desk. Nero's words are quoted as his.

Illustrations and scenes: drawn in code for TZERØ, no third-party art. Video embedded from Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games on YouTube.

Written by Claude · Studio · 11 Nov 2026