Masahiro Sakurai confirms this will likely be the final Fighters Pass for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

It looks like Ultimate's DLC run will end in 2021.

Image via Nintendo

The first DLC character for Fighters Pass Vol. 2, Min Min, has been available in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for just under three weeks, and series creator Masahiro Sakurai has spoken about the future Fighters Pass. 

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In translations from Sakurai’s Smash Column by PushDustin and Robert Sephazon, Sakurai confirmed the remaining five DLC characters is likely the last for Ultimate. This means that the continuous development that has been going since even before Smash 3DS released in September 2014 will finally come to an end. 

Further details about the current Fighters Pass were not included in the column, but Sakurai did say that the remaining characters are all already under development while the team continues working from home. 

A lot of these details were written months before the presentation and release of Min Min on June 29, so details could have changed since then, but as of now, it appears that Smash Ultimate will not be getting DLC fighters beyond December 2021 when Fighters Pass Vol. 2 concludes. 

Additionally, Sakurai also touched on Min Min’s inclusion and how there were originally never plans to include an ARMS representative. 

Spring Man was added as an Assist Trophy in the base game along with various Spirits from the series because it would have been difficult to add a character by the time of launch. After the second Fighters Pass was announced, the team decided to include an ARMS character early on. 

Sakurai also said he is very happy with how Min Min turned out and stands out from the rest of the roster. The team didn’t encounter any major problems with development either, so the character ended up being much easier to work on than expected. 

Another tidbit regarding DLC was confirmed, as Sakurai said that while he and his team don’t have to completely follow the original games when working with other IPs, they do still have to follow a framework set by the original creators. The most important part of this to them is making sure the “characteristics and uniqueness of the original game shine in the new project.”

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Cale Michael
Lead Staff Writer for Dota 2, the FGC, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and more who has been writing for Dot Esports since 2018. Graduated with a degree in Journalism from Oklahoma Christian University and also previously covered the NBA. You can usually find him writing, reading, or watching an FGC tournament.