Here’s exactly when you can play Kazuya in Smash Ultimate

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has a new character coming June 29 — Tekken’s own Kazuya Mishima. The character was first revealed during Nintendo’s E3 presentation back on June 15, with a characteristically tongue-in-cheek trailer which saw him chucking several members of the roster off the edge of a cliff. (Kirby managed to bounce back, though.)

Want to know when you’ll be able to download the upcoming fighter and the corresponding 12.0 update? Then you’ve come to the right place.

But first: What are your favorite games and platforms of 2021, and what future releases are you most excited about? Take our poll!

What time will Kazuya Mishima release in Smash Ultimate?

Even though Nintendo hasn’t officially announced a release time for Kazuya, or any past Smash DLC fighter for that matter, previous character releases offer fans a solid guess of when they can expect Kazuya, and the related 12.0 Smash Ultimate update, to grace their handheld consoles.

Provided he follows the same pattern as most of the others, players can expect to download Kazuya between 8 and 9 p.m. Eastern June 29. There may be a delay of a few minutes for the update to deploy globally, but here are a few past approximate release times for reference.

• Joker: 9 p.m. Eastern
• Hero: 9 p.m. Eastern
• Banjo-Kazooie: 9 p.m. Eastern
• Byleth: 9 p.m. Eastern
• Min Min: 9:15 p.m. Eastern
• Minecraft Steve: 9:15 p.m. Eastern
• Sephiroth: 9 p.m. Eastern
• Pyra/Mythra: 9 p.m. Eastern

The only outlier for this very consistent trend is Terry Bogard, who released around 9 a.m. Eastern immediately after his Sakurai Presents livestream. Since that type of release didn’t happen for Kazuya, it seems a late evening release on the East Coast is the most plausible scenario.

What to expect from the Smash Ultimate 12.0 update?

Unfortunately, given how tight-lipped Nintendo typically is with regard to all things Smash, it’s difficult to predict precisely what will be changed in the 12.0 update. Especially as more and more characters continue to be added to the roster, there are countless avenues through which the game could be tweaked or adjusted. Pichu, Ganondorf, Marth, Pit, Dr. Mario, and Bowser Jr. all seem ripe for buffs, but it’s difficult to say what form that would take.

For the specifics, look out for a full list of patch notes available shortly after Kazuya goes live.

What major content can we expect?

• Kazuya: He’s obviously the headliner of the update, and you can learn more about him via our Codex page. In short, he has the most complex moveset Smash Ultimate has ever seen, but it still manages to capture the series’ simplified control scheme. Generally speaking, though, Kazuya is the closest we’ve come to traditional fighting game combos and mechanics in Smash. He’s $5.99 as a standalone download and included in Fighters Pass Vol. 2.
• The Mishima Dojo stage: Included with the new fighter is the Mishima Dojo stage. It starts out as a fully enclosed arena, but its walls break apart on all sides as the combat continues. By the end of the battle, the stage has a Final Destination feel with no floating platforms.
• Tons of Tekken music: Also included is the addition of 39 music tracks from Tekken, with eight of those featuring entirely new arrangements specifically for Smash Ultimate.
• New Mii Fighter costumes: For just $0.75 each, players can purchase Dante (Swordfighter), Shante (Brawler), Skyrim’s Dragonborn (Swordfighter), or Lloyd from Tales of Symphonia (Swordfighter).

Kazuya and update 12.0 come to Smash Ultimate on June 29.