Kirby
Image: Nintendo

Nintendo's pink puffball Kirby hasn't been sighted since the surprise release of Kirby Fighters 2 on the Switch last year.

This doesn't necessarily mean HAL Laboratory has forgotten about him, though. Following on from an interview late last year, when the company teased new games, merchandise and more in the future - Kirby Star Allies director, Shinyu Kumazaki, has now touched on the "next phase" of the series.

With Kirby Star Allies support now complete, the team is busy "planning for the next stage" of Kirby's future. Here's a bit of insight from Kumazaki about what's currently going on at the Kirby HQ, courtesy of a translation from Nintendo Everything:

"And now, finally, we can move on to the next phase! I still try new things at work every day, talking with my colleagues about where to take the [Kirby] series next. Together with them, even if only to please a single fan, we’re planning for the next stage of our future. The team is a culmination of the best aspects of the Kirby franchise, and we hope you’ll look forward to what we have coming next.”

Kirby's development team also previously spoke about how they wanted the next big project to be the "pinnacle of Kirby games" and to create something that exceeds the games in the series before it.

What would you like to see from the developers of Kirby this year and in the future? Leave a comment down below.

[source nintendoeverything.com]