'Smash Bros Ultimate' Roster: Why New Characters Could Be Coming This Month

It might feel like years have passed since Nintendo first revealed the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster at E3 2018, but it’s actually been less than two months. Still, it’s totally normal to wonder when the company might get around to announcing any additional new characters joining the roster, and a new Reddit post helps break down exactly what that could happen based on the series’ long history.

Created by Reddit user 98ventus, this timeline tracks exactly when Nintendo revealed each addition to the Smash Bros roster for each game, starting with the date the game was original announced and leading up to its official release. Compared side-by-side, they seem to illustrate a pattern that may help reveal when we can expect to see the Smash Bros. Ultimate roster expand.

Based on a quick look at these images, it seems clear that we’re still in for a bit of a wait before any new characters will be announced. As these timelines seem to illustrate, Nintendo typically waits a while after the initial announcement before revealing any roster additions.

The best comparison is probably the second timeline (Brawl Pre-Delay), which shows Nintendo’s original rollout plan for the game before its release was pushed back. There’s a similar overall waiting period (195 days compared to 178 for Ultimate), and we don’t see the first new character announcements until almost three months after the initial title reveal. If Nintendo follows this pattern, we could see a succession of new fighters added to the Smash Bros. Ultimate roster starting in mid-to-late-August.

The timeline for Smash Bros. Wii U is a little less reliable because Nintendo stretched that countdown out over an insane 460 days. Still, when you compare the timeline’s side by side the roster reveals still line up pretty well.

The one thing these timelines definitely prove is that Nintendo has a clear history of announcing a whole bunch of new characters in the time between the initial reveal and the official release date. So there’s no reason to think the company won’t do the exact same thing when it comes to the Smash Bros. Ultimate roster as well.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate launches December 7 for Nintendo Switch.