Smash Ultimate Fighter Pass 2 release dates, possible fighters, and leaks to know
Please give us Sirfetch'd.
Nintendo announced a new Fighters Pass 2 for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate during a January Nintendo Direct presentation confirming Byleth from Fire Emblem: Three Houses as the final member of the first Fighters Pass, and since then added Min Min from ARMS as the first fighter from the new pass. There are still five more characters that will join Byleth, Mario, and all the different Links in future DLC packs as part of Fighters Pass 2.
But what characters might come to the game, and when? Will we ever see justice for Waluigi? Here's all that and more.
The first Smash Bros. Ultimate Fighters Pass — which did not include Piranha Plant, by the way — consisted of four individual Challenge Packs released throughout 2019 with the fifth being released in late January 2020. Those fighters include Joker from Persona 5, The Hero from Dragon Quest, Banjo & Kazooie from their self-titled game, Terry Bogard from Fatal Fury, and Byleth from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Altogether, these contenders put the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster at a staggering 75 characters. Then Min Min, released on June 29, inches that up to 76 fighters.
At what point will Nintendo have to add folders or something similar to clean up the character selection screen? We're not sure, but we have a good idea of what will be represented in the Fighters Pass 2 to get us to a total of 81 by the time 2022 arrives.
What’s included in each Smash Ultimate Challenger Pack?
Historically, each installment in a Fighters Pass is called a “Challenger Pack,” and while obviously the new playable character is the primary draw for each piece of DLC, there's more included in each of them. There's at least one new stage and, historically, anywhere between 8 and 50 new music tracks. Oftentimes there will also new Mii Fighter skin. Vault Boy from the Fallout games, for instance, was added to the game as part of the 8.0 update that included Min Min, allowing for the Mii Gunner to take on the appearance.
Masahiro Sakurai confirmed in the initial announcement that the Fighters Pass 2 pack would also include the Ancient Soldier costume for Mii Swordfighter as seen in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as well. The technical label for it is "Ancient Helm + Gear," which essentially means you can wear one or the other or even both at the same time.
When is the Smash Ultimate Fighters Pass 2 release date?
Game Director Masahiro Sakurai announced during the January 2020 Nintendo Direct that the Fighters Pass 2 would be released January 28 on the same day as Byleth, which obviously means that it is currently available following the version 7.0.0 update.
Sakurai also confirmed that all six of the packs were already in development, or more specifically that all six of the characters had already been decided and that they'd all be released by December 31, 2021.
Who are these new challengers?
When will each new Challenger Pack be released for the Fighters Pass 2?
Previous DLC characters in 2019 were released January 29, April 17, July 30, September 4, November 6, and then on January 28, 2020. At this point, Nintendo’s pace seems to indicate a new character about every two months or a bit longer.
However, because Sakurai also confirmed that the Fighters Pass 2 wouldn’t end until December 31, 2021, we can infer that these six new characters will be spaced out over the course of 23 months with about three characters per calendar year. Therefore, we’re probably looking at a new character every 3-4 months rather than 2-3.
Min Min wasn't added until June 29, a full five months after the release of Byleth. Game Director Masahiro Sakurai previously hinted that prolonged work-from-home conditions due to the coronavirus pandemic may have led to delays in the development processes for new characters. As far as anybody knows, the Fighters Pass 2 will still conclude in December 2021, but that would mean five more characters spread out across 18 months.
If we were to speculate, it seems like a new character could be added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in October 2020, January 2021, April 2021, July 2021, and October 2021. This is pure speculation based on a 3-month development cycle. The reality of Covid-19, however, is probably that the Fighters Pass 2 will stretch well into 2022.
Please add Sirfetch'd to the game.
What new characters will be added in Smash Ultimate’s Fighters Pass 2?
“The new additions have already been decided,” Sakurai confirmed during the January 16 Nintendo Direct. “Even if I receive many requests regarding potential candidates on Twitter, I’m afraid it would be very hard to consider them.”
Fire Emblem: Three Houses was released in July 2019, and Nintendo only added Byleth character to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate about six months later, which feels like a bit of a marketing stunt that Nintendo doesn't often go for — especially after Min Min from ARMS was added out of the blue.
If Nintendo continues adding characters from newer Nintendo games, then the Fighters Pass 2 could very well add a character from Pokémon Sword or Pokémon Shield — or the DLCs Isle of Armor and/or Crown Tundra. The tiny bundle of Fighting-type energy, Kubfu, feels like a strong candidate. As does his evolution, Urshifu.
My personal hope is for Sirfetch’d, but the Pokémon Champion Leon and his Charizard would also be an interesting choice, assuming Nintendo goes with a Pokémon character.
Something connected to Animal Crossing: New Horizons could make sense as well, but Nintendo doesn't really have a history of promoting its biggest games within Smash.
Other various leaks or wish lists flag characters like Travis Touchdown, Geno, Waluigi, or even someone from the Resident Evil franchise, among others. Based on some details revealed by DOOM Eternal executive producer Marty Stratton, there's zero chance that the Doom Guy will be one of the characters included in the Fighter Pass 2. Maybe in Fighter Pass 3?
One interesting thing to note: Min Min was a Spirit before she was added to the game as a full fighter. Previously, any character that was already an Assist Trophy or a Spirit was though to be off-limits. In other words, all bets are off.
Nintendo usually confirms the next fighter anywhere between one week and two months before the actual DLC release dates, so there is still plenty of time before we know any of the characters or details in the Fighter Pass 2 for certain.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s Fighters Pass 2 will be available for purchase January 28, 2020.
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