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Masahiro Sakurai announced that his pet cat, Fukurashi, had died on February 6, 2026, at 7 AM JST (February 5, 2026, 5 PM ET). Although Sakurai did not mention Fukurashi’s age, the cat had been accompanying him for a long time.
In the same announcement, Sakurai also noted how he still could feel the late cat snuggling against his feet. The scar on the hand that resulted from a bite a long time ago is also still present when Sakurai wrote the tweet.
Masahiro Sakurai’s original Japanese announcement tweet is also available to read right below:
In November 2022, Sakurai fulfilled fan requests to produce and upload a video dedicated to his pet cat Fukurashi. The video contained pictures and clips of the cat that had stayed with Sakurai ever since she was still a kitten. It is still available to watch on the Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games channel on YouTube:
Following the conclusion of the YouTube channel in late 2024, Masahiro Sakurai announced that he was working on a new game. He had since become the director of Kirby Air Riders, which was co-developed by Sora and Bandai Namco. Kirby Air Riders is readily available worldwide on Nintendo Switch 2.
