In the ongoing negotiation between nostalgia and novelty that defines gaming culture, Nintendo has chosen the stage of The Game Awards to unveil the next fighter joining Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's ever-expanding roster. The announcement, made without a single hint as to the character's identity, arrives at a moment when the game's development has been slowed by pandemic realities — making each new addition feel both rarer and more weighted. It is a small but telling ritual: a community pausing together at the edge of a reveal, reminded that anticipation itself is part of the experience.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC Fighter Reveal Coming Tonight at Game Awards
Four more fighters remain under contract.
So Nintendo just confirmed they're announcing a new Smash fighter tonight. What's the actual news here—is it the announcement itself, or are we waiting to see who it is?
Both, really. The announcement is the news—Nintendo went public with it this afternoon. But the identity of the character is what everyone's actually interested in. That reveal happens tonight.
Right, but we should be clear: Nintendo said a fighter will be revealed. They didn't say who. So everything after this point is speculation.
Fair. So what do we actually know about the pipeline? How many characters are left?
Four more DLC fighters are still coming. Three arrived this year—Byleth, Min Min, and Steve. But the schedule has gotten slower because of COVID delays.
And when will the next one actually ship? The article says "likely 2021," but that's an estimate, not a confirmation.
Why does the timing matter so much? Why reveal it at The Game Awards specifically?
Nintendo did the same thing in 2018 when they announced Joker from Persona 5 at The Game Awards on the day Ultimate launched. It's become a tradition for them—big stage, big audience.
Though they didn't do a reveal at last year's Game Awards, so it's not like it's guaranteed every year.
What are people actually guessing will be announced?
Geno from Super Mario RPG keeps coming up. Sora from Kingdom Hearts. A new Pokémon. Even wild guesses like a Fortnite character.
But here's the thing—there are no credible leaks. The rumors that circulated before Steve's reveal turned out to be wrong. So we're really just in the dark.
So tonight we find out, and then we wait months for them to actually release it.
Probably, yeah. That's the cycle now.
Il Polso
- Nintendo dropped the announcement with deliberate silence — no name, no image, no clue — igniting speculation across every corner of the gaming internet.
- With four DLC slots still unfilled and COVID having stretched the development timeline, each new fighter carries the pressure of scarcity and prolonged waiting.
- Fan wish lists are cycling furiously — Geno, Sora, a Gen VIII Pokémon — but the absence of credible leaks means no one has a meaningful edge on the truth.
- Steve's surprise arrival earlier this year proved that even the most 'obvious' picks can still land as genuine shocks, keeping the community's guard both up and down at once.
- In a matter of hours, The Game Awards ceremony will collapse all speculation into a single answer, settling message boards and social feeds that have been churning all day.
In the ongoing negotiation between nostalgia and novelty that defines gaming culture, Nintendo has chosen the stage of The Game Awards to unveil the next fighter joining Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's ever-expanding roster. The announcement, made without a single hint as to the character's identity, arrives at a moment when the game's development has been slowed by pandemic realities — making each new addition feel both rarer and more weighted. It is a small but telling ritual: a community pausing together at the edge of a reveal, reminded that anticipation itself is part of the experience.
Nintendo announced this afternoon that a new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate fighter would be revealed at The Game Awards, posting the news to its official Twitter account without naming the character or offering any hints. The ceremony begins at 6:30 p.m. ET.
The moment carries historical weight. The 2018 Game Awards — held on the same day Ultimate launched — featured the first-ever DLC reveal for the game: Joker from Persona 5. Since then, the roster has grown steadily through paid additions, with three characters arriving in 2020 alone: Byleth, Min Min, and Steve from Minecraft. Four fighters remain under contract, though pandemic-related slowdowns mean the next addition likely won't reach players until 2021.
The lack of credible leaks has sent fans deep into wish-list territory. Geno from Super Mario RPG and Sora from Kingdom Hearts are perennial favorites. Others have floated the idea of a character from outside gaming entirely, or a new Gen VIII Pokémon to fill a conspicuous gap in the roster.
Steve's inclusion earlier this year illustrated how unpredictable these reveals have become. Despite Minecraft being the best-selling game ever made, his announcement still surprised many — and the pre-announcement leaks pointing to Ryu from Ninja Gaiden and the Doom Slayer turned out to be entirely false. Tonight, the speculation ends.
Nintendo announced this afternoon that a new fighter for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will be revealed tonight during The Game Awards ceremony, which begins at 6:30 p.m. ET. The company posted the news to its official Twitter account without naming the character or offering any hints about who might be joining the roster.
The timing echoes a precedent from two years ago. The 2018 Game Awards aired on the same day Super Smash Bros. Ultimate launched, and that show featured the first reveal of a DLC character: Joker from Persona 5. Since then, the game has received a steady stream of paid additions. Three characters arrived in 2020 alone—Byleth from Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Min Min from Arms, and Steve from Minecraft—though the development pipeline has slowed considerably. Four more fighters remain under contract, and given production delays tied to the pandemic, the next addition likely won't reach players until sometime in 2021.
The mystery surrounding tonight's reveal has already set off a familiar cycle of speculation among the competitive and casual communities. With no credible leaks circulating beforehand, fans are cycling through their wish lists. Geno from Super Mario RPG has been a perennial request, as has Sora from the Kingdom Hearts series. Some have wondered whether Nintendo might break new ground by licensing a character from outside gaming entirely—a Fortnite fighter, for instance, though that remains pure conjecture. The roster still lacks a Gen VIII Pokémon, so a new pocket monster or trainer could plausibly fill the slot.
Steve's arrival in the game earlier this year demonstrated how difficult prediction has become. He comes from Minecraft, the best-selling video game ever made, so his inclusion seemed almost inevitable in retrospect. Yet his announcement still managed to surprise many players, and the leaks that circulated beforehand—including rumors about Ryu from Ninja Gaiden and the Doom Slayer—proved baseless. Tonight's reveal will settle the question that has occupied message boards and social media all day. The Game Awards will air in a matter of hours.
Citazioni salienti
No credible leaks have circulated about the mystery fighter's identity— reporting