Official Smash Bros. Ultimate site may have hinted at the next DLC reveal

Even though we are just a couple weeks out from the addition of Min Min to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, fans of the fighting game are already eager to learn who the next character to join the game will be and when they'll join the fray. While Nintendo has not made any formal announcements or reveals, a new update to the official site for Smash Bros. Ultimate has led some fans to think it may happen very soon.

The website change was initially spotted on July 13 by Twitter user @shadowedgy. If you go to the game's official website, you'll notice that the "New" tab for the fighter, stages, and music sections of the site has been removed. This typically only happens when a new fighter is about to be revealed. "The new tab has mysteriously been removed from the Smash website," @shadowedgy wrote. "Keep in mind I believe Byleth’s was there up until Min Min was revealed." Therefore, they've theorized that the next Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC announcement might be right on the horizon.

It does make sense that the new tab would be removed once again if the reveal of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's 77th DLC fighter was coming very soon.

If a reveal is happening in the coming weeks, it will be surprising considering the gap between the last two DLC fighters. Fire Emblem: Three House's Byleth was released in January 2020, following the two-to-three month cadence of DLC releases. The Covid-19 pandemic has caused some delays in the workflow for Smash Bros. Ultimate, and Min Min wasn't teased until March before a June 29 release — that's more than five months after Byleth.

Nintendo has not indicated when we'll hear about the next DLC fighter, but other rumors suggest that it could be as soon as next week. Some reports say that a new Nintendo Direct could take place on July 20, 2020 or some other time during that leak. If that leak is true, then it would be the perfect time to tease Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's next DLC character, whomever that may be. That same week will be the 20th anniversary of Waluigi's debut in Mario Tennis for the Nintendo 64.

The Inverse Analysis — If this website change is more than simple maintenance and upkeep, it's quite exciting. As we mentioned, the gap between Byleth and Min Min was long, and I was worried that that same five-month gap would apply to future fighters too. While I'm not sure how real the Nintendo Direct leak is because those typically take place on Thursdays, not Monday, it would make perfect sense to reveal a new fighter there.

If a new fighter is about to be teased though, that gap seems like will be considerably shorter. I'd love to see the next fighter for the game in August or September rather than November or December, and this website update indicates that might be the case. One also has to wonder who the next mainline fighter is. We've theorized several in the past, but as we don't know much about Nintendo's fall lineup we can only hope that long requested characters like Waluigi or Geno will make it in.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is available now for Nintendo Switch.