Despite the controversy surrounding Byleth's addition to the roster earlier this year, it appears many fans haven't been dissuaded on the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's upcoming second Fighter Pass scheduled to debut sometime later this year. From speculation surrounding which characters will make the cut to fans imagining the move sets of their favorite characters if they got added, it's clear Ultimate's DLC will be a huge deal whenever it drops, with fans expecting some of the best fighters to ever make the roster.
However, it seems in the wake of the Coronavirus the second fighter pass might put to the wayside, with Masahiro Sakurai claiming some behind the scenes aspects of the upcoming DLC have been affected by the spreading virus. Discussing the issue in a recent Famitsu column, the esteemed game director claimed that the team had to delay a presentation to publishers that would go over the current plans for the upcoming DLC, with the industry icon also claiming that if anyone in the building contracted the virus then production on the DLC would come to a halt.
Sakurai goes on to admits that he believes that setbacks like these may slow development on the DLC, with the precautions surrounding the epidemic no doubt becoming a major issue when trying to work on the next batch of major Super Smash Bros. Ultimate fighters. It's a disappointing update to be sure, however, it's evidently worth waiting a few extra months to access these characters if the result is a safer work environment for Sakurai and his incredible team of game designers. As the team has shown before, the DLC is no doubt going to bring some absolutely sensational new faces to the Smash roster, so it's worth allowing Sakurai some extra time to make something truly special.
The DLC itself has conjured tons of speculation surrounding who will make it into the game. Many have petitioned for the likes of Kingdom Hearts' protagonist Sora to feature in the next wave of fighters while others have shown a lot of interest in seeing the likes of Dante from Devil May Cry, Crash Bandicoot, Sephiroth and more. Clearly, fans have a lot of interest in Ultimate's DLC, so Sakurai will need a good amount of time to make all the upcoming names extraordinarily special.
In the meantime, Switch owners will have a new massive game to play in Animal Crossing: New Horizons which launches this Friday. The title will no doubt be one of the biggest games Nintendo drops this year, and in the wake of the virus, it will no doubt be a delightful distraction while the world deals with the worrying pandemic.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is available now for the Nintendo Switch.
Source: Famitsu