Ever since details on the game were revealed back at E3 2018, it was made clear that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was to be the most ambitious game in the series yet, mainly by bringing back every single character from past Smash games. Moving forward, the game even brought fans some of the most fan-requested characters in the entire history of Smash, first and third-party alike, but the game has continued to deliver on many other fronts as well.
Aside from just characters, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has brought a wide variety of content to players in the forms of new quality of life improvements, timed-events, and much more. Director Masahiro Sakurai has clearly given Super Smash Bros. Ultimate his all, truly making it the definitive Smash game to date, but moving into 2021, it's clear that the game isn't quite done delivering new content just yet.
Challenger Packs 9-11
Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U quite literally changed the game by finally adding DLC characters after its release, and since then, DLC fighters have been a core part of the series. With the announcement of a 2nd Fighters Pass practically immediately after the completion of the first one, the floodgates for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC fighter rumors, speculation, and leaks opened up once again, with 6 more character slots to be filled. And with 3 of those slots already being taken by Min Min, Steve/Alex, and Sephiroth, there are 3 more to go in Fighers Pass Vol. 2. Not only will these 3 Challenger Packs bring new characters, but also stages, music tracks, and likely new Mii Costumes to be released separately.
Challenger Packs 9-11 will mark the addition of fighters 79, 80, and 81, and speculation for who could fill those slots is at an all-time high. While many fans expect to see another Bandai Namco rep in the form of Tales of Symphonia's Lloyd Irving, who has yet to make a reappearance in the Smash series after appearance as a Mii Costume in Smash for 3DS and Wii U, there are plenty of other contenders. From long-time fan-requested characters like Crash Bandicoot and Rayman to oddballs like Doom's Doom Slayer and Fortnite's Jonesy, the list goes on. But, if there's one thing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has taught fans, it's that that Smash is unpredictable.
Over the years, Smash fans have made a habit of developing fan rules, such as if a character is added to the game as a Mii Costume, Assist Trophy, or Spirit, they'll never be released as a playable fighter. While most fan rules developed over the years have held true, the release of Min Min completely shattered the Spirit fan rule, both having a Spirit in the game and later being added as the game's 7th DLC fighter. However, players will just have to wait and see if any other characters with Spirits may break the curse, such as the highly requested Paper Mario, Mach Rider, or Shantae.
New Amiibo
Although Sakurai and his team seem to be pumping out new DLC fighters for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate at an insane pace, it seems that the toys-to-life Amiibo figures for the new characters take a bit longer to develop. Although Joker and Hero were released in the Spring and Summer of 2019 respectively, their Amiibo were only just released a few months ago in October 2020, well over a year after each character was released. However, fans can expect to see plenty more Smash Ultimate Amiibo in 2021.
At the end of the Sakurai Presents Steve & Alex showcase, the director announced that Amiibo figures for Banjo & Kazooie, Terry, and Byleth would release sometime in 2021. The release of these 3 Amiibo figures will round out the Amiibo for the 1st Fighters Pass, likely leading into the production of Amiibo figures for the characters from the 2nd Fighters Pass. Although a concrete release date was not announced for these 3 figures, it still gives something Smash and Amiibo fans to look forward to going into 2021. However, there is some speculation surrounding the release date of these new Amiibo.
Back in October 2020, an official Tweet made by Nintendo noted that the Banjo & Kazooie, Terry, and Byleth Amiibo would release in Fall 2021. However, the Tweet was later deleted confusing fans even more than that distant date. While Fall 2021 certainly seems like an unnecessarily far away release date for the Amiibo figures, it's important to take into account that COVID-19 has had an incredible impact the production of all sorts of products, especially those related to video games. Otherwise, another likely explanation is that Nintendo internally uses Fall 2021 as a placeholder release date, and it was accidentally used in one of their Tweets by an unsuspecting employee. Either way, fans can definitely expect to see some more Smash Amiibo in 2021.
Spirit Board Events & Tournaments
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has been able to keep the game feeling fresh for many with a constant barrage of Spirit Board Events and in-game Tournaments to compete in. Ever since the game's release, Spirit Board Events have given players the opportunity to obtain all kinds of Spirits, aiding them in either their local multiplayer brawls or their journeys through Smash Ultimate's World of Light campaign. Additionally, new DLC fighters have brought new Spirits along with them, such as the release of Steve & Alex bringing new Minecraft Spirits, and Sephiroth bringing new Final Fantasy 7 Spirits along with him as well. These newer Spirits and the Spirits to be released with the next few DLC fighters are sure to appear in more Spirit Board Events in 2021.
Much like Spirit Board Events, countless official online Tournaments with various themes have been made available to players ever since Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's release. While tournaments have focused on a plethora of themes such as an abundance of Mushroom items or fighters with electric special attacks, some tournaments have even yielded physical rewards, such as the recent tournament commemorating Super Mario's 35th anniversary, which awarded 35 players a special collector's coin. With Pokemon's 25th anniversary and Zelda's 35th anniversary coming up this year, it is likely that fans will also have the chance to compete in online tournaments featuring those series for the chance to snag some neat rewards.
Fighters Pass 3?
Although Ultimate has already released significantly more DLC than Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U, fans are always hopeful that the hype train never has to come to an end. While a 2nd Fighters Pass with 6 characters instead of 5 was already a surprise, Sakurai has almost taught Smash fans to expect the unexpected. While the director stated last February that there are no plans for a 3rd Fighters Pass, times change, and so does Smash. For years, Sakurai stated that Ridley couldn't make it into Smash because he was too big, and look at him now. With the money-making machine that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has become, it's hard to believe that a 3rd Fighters Pass hasn't at least been considered.
Of course, another Fighters Pass would mean the development of 5-6 more DLC fighters, and the director has made it clear just how much time and effort goes into creating each new fighter for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. So, yet another Fighters Pass would mean a lot more work for Sakurai and his team, not to mention they didn't even have a break between the development of Smash for 3DS and Wii U and Smash Ultimate. So, while a 3rd Fighters Pass may be unlikely, it seems that, with Sakurai and the Smash team, slim chances never mean zero, though only time will tell.
For now, it's clear that players of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate have a lot to look forward to in 2021, from new DLC fighters, to new Amiibo figures, to new in-game events. But as players continue to enjoy the recently released Sephiroth, they can rest easy knowing that an abundance of new Smash Ultimate content is coming their way in the new year.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is available now on Nintendo Switch.