Suda51 might not seem like a game developer who takes no for an answer, but in the case of one dream project, he apparently hasn’t had much of a choice. As the creative force behind games likeNo More Heroes,Killer7, andLollipop Chainsaw, Suda51 has built an eclectic legacy of titles that aren’t afraid to reinvent the wheel. Most recently,Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remasteredbrought his demon-hunting cult classic to modern platforms, and theupcoming gameHotel Barcelonafuses his talents with those ofDeadly Premonitiondirector Swery65.
Over the years, Suda51 has always been more prone to creating original concepts than working on pre-established franchises, but that’s never been a hard rule. He started his career with an entry in theSuper Fire Pro Wrestlingseries, andFatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipsebrought his talents to an iconic horror brand. In his original works, he tends to cram in plenty of Easter eggs, and the oft-referencedGundamfranchise is the one that still eludes him.
Suda51 Really Wants To Make A Gundam Game
Suda51 & The Rights Holders Don’t See Eye-To-Eye
Speaking at a panel at MomoCon 2025, an Atlanta pop culture convention, Suda51 talked about his desire to create aGundamgame. The topic came up when talking about various inspirations for his games, with Suda answering “of course” when asked ifGundaminfluenced his mecha shoot ‘em upLiberation Maiden. Elaborating, he said thathe’s wanted to make aGundamgame with his game studio, Grasshopper Manufacture, for years, but “Bandai won’t let us.”
As Bandai Namco is the license holder for theGundamfranchise, all of themanyGundamgameson the market can only exist through their licensing and approval. It’s not clear how much effort Suda51 has put into acquiring a license agreement for a game, but this isn’t the first time he’s brought up his desire to work onGundam. In a since-deleted ITMedia article, shared by Reddit userLordEmmerichand archived onWayback Machine,Suda mentioned that his proposal for a game withMobile Suit Zeta Gundam’s Yazan Gable was rejected.
Yazan Gable is an antagonist ofMobile Suit Zeta Gundam, so Suda51’s game proposal might have followed a different perspective from the series.
Interestingly,Suda51’sHotel Barcelonacollaborator has had more official involvement with theGundamfranchise. While Swery65 hasn’t directed his ownGundamgame from the ground up, he co-directedKidō Senshi Gundam: Senjō no Kizuna Portable, a PSP port of aGundamarcade game. Presented with this information at the MomoCon panel, where Swery65 was also in attendance, Suda joked that he would need to take Swery “out to the parking lot” where they could “discuss things further.”
A Suda51 Gundam Game Could Be An Interesting Twist
It Might Not Be A Mis-Match After All
It’s not hard to imagine why Suda51 wouldn’t be Bandai’s go-to choice for aGundamgame. While the tone ofGundamprojects has varied over the years, it’s rooted in a serious, critical take on war, and Suda’s frequently over-the-top design wouldn’t fit every iteration as well as it might serve the more Saturday-morning-cartoon-styleMobile Fighter G Gundam. Nonetheless,Suda’s more than capable of sincere storytelling, and a GrasshopperGundamgame could be a more interesting prospect than the average mecha title.
While Suda always seems to have his hands busy with plenty of projects, it would be nice to see him take on the challenge of aGundamgame someday. He’s clearly passionate about the material, and I’d be lying if I said an off-beat SudaGundamtitle wouldn’t interest me more than a straightforward mecha battler. At the moment, this particular collaboration seems like a long shot, but when it comes to Suda51’s career, games likeNo More Heroeshave consistently proven that nothing’s ever truly off the table.
