The renowned Japanese game developer HAL, known for creating beloved franchises such as Kirby, Smash Bros., and Earthbound, and the workplace where Satoru Iwata made his mark, is celebrating its 45th anniversary. Founded on February 21, 1980, by Mitsuhiro Ikeda, the company initially focused on developing games for home computers, which eventually led to a partnership with Nintendo four years later.
Over the years, HAL has introduced a series of memorable games and characters, contributing to the development of several classic NES titles such as Pinball, Golf, and Balloon Fight. Masahiro Sakurai, who later joined the company, made his debut with Kirby's Dream Land, introducing the beloved pink character Kirby. Since then, Kirby has appeared in nearly 40 games, becoming an enduring symbol of the company.
Aside from the Kirby series, HAL has also been involved in several other major projects. Just before the 2000s, the company released titles like Pokémon Snap and Pokémon Pinball, offering fresh perspectives for the Pokémon franchise at the time. While it's been two years since we last saw something new from the team — with Return to Dream Land Deluxe being their most recent release — there's hope that Kirby might make a grand comeback just in time for the Switch 2 launch later this year.
Shinya Kumazaki, HAL's internal product lead for the Kirby series, expressed his gratitude to all the fans in a post on BlueSky.
What's your favourite game from HAL?