The game is little over a year old, but Super Smash Bros. Ultimate still has six more fighters left to be added to it, with Byleth from Fire Emblem Three Houses being the most recent addition in January. The second Fighter Pass for the game features one more character than the first pack which means the game still has another year of DLC and updates left at the least. Now that the first Fighter Pass has been completely added, it’s time to predict when Nintendo will reveal the start of the second one.
Even though Super Smash Bros. Ultimate already has an incredible roster, fans are still eager to see who will be joining the roster next. After the second Fighter Pass has been completely revealed and added to the game (by the end of 2021, according to Nintendo), Smash Ultimate will have a staggering total of 86 characters. There are six DLC characters that have been released for the game so far, and a pattern is evident in the way Nintendo reveals and releases them. Considering this, a new character might actually be revealed pretty soon.
Timing of Smash Ultimate DLC
Nintendo has used its Direct presentation format to showcase a lot of games over the years. Most recently, there was a Nintendo Direct that focused on the upcoming Animal Crossing New Horizons. After the release of Piranha Plant and Persona 5’s Joker, it has exclusively used this format to reveal DLC characters for Smash Ultimate. Looking at the pattern of Smash Ultimate-focused Directs, one can make a guess as to when Nintendo plans on kicking off the second Fighter Pass. The next character should be revealed sometime from mid-March to early April, with its release happening shortly after.
Byleth was announced in January and was added to the game later that month. Two months before that in November, Terry Bogard was revealed to be joining the game. Almost exactly two months before Terry’s reveal in November, Banjo and Kazooie were revealed to be joining the roster in September. In late July, Hero from the Dragon Quest series was announced as the next DLC character. All of these reveals have roughly a month and a half to two months in between them, which gives a strong indication that Nintendo could be gearing up to reveal the first character of the second and final Fighter Pass soon.
What Smash Fans Want
Fans of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate haven’t really been deviating from the regular group of wishlist characters that many people seemed to have gotten behind. A recent Smash Ultimate poll among a small section of Japanese gamers found that Sora from Kingdom Hearts is still a highly requested character. Although he’d be a perfect addition to the game and its style, his addition to the game would require Nintendo and Square Enix to bring Marvel/Disney to the table. Devil May Cry’s Dante is another highly requested character among fans and, just like with Square Enix, Capcom already has characters in the game, so it’s not that big of an ask.
Smash Ultimate fans from the west have also frequently requested Sora and Dante but whereas the Japanese crowd tends to favor other JRPG characters when it comes to Smash wishlists, western crowds typically and predictably tend to favor more western developed characters. For example, Ed Boon has expressed interest in seeing Mortal Kombat's Scorpion in Smash Ultimate.
Otherwise, Halo’s Master Chief is a highly requested character in the west, but in Japan, there is little to no interest in seeing him in the game. Just like with Capcom and Square Enix, Microsoft has Banjo and Kazooie in Smash Ultimate, so there is at least some sort of precedent for another collaboration. Crash Bandicoot is a fan favorite among all sides but is one of the most requested DLC characters of all time among western audiences specifically. A supposed leak has even confirmed Crash for Smash Ultimate recently. Whoever (or whatever) the next character ends up being, fans can at least expect the next Smash Ultimate DLC character to be announced soon.
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