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New Update Reveals When Next Super Smash Bros. May Release (And It’s Still Far Away)
A new update, not about the next Super Smash Bros. game, but another upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 game, actually sheds substantial light on the release of the next Super Smash Bros. game for Nintendo Switch 2. Those hoping for good news, hoping for word that it’s close, are unfortunately not going to find this good news with this new update.
The latest Super Smash Bros. game — Super Smash Bros. Ultimate — was released back in 2018, which means it is seven years old. The largest gap between Super Smash Bros. releases is seven years, so it comes as a bit of a surprise that a new Super Smash Bros. game has yet to be even announced. History suggests a new installment should be out by now, but at the very least, be revealed by now. Fans currently have nothing but speculation, though.
The Kirby Dilemma
A major reason for this prolonged gap is that the studio behind the series, Sora — helmed by Super Smash Bros. creator, Masahiro Sakurai — has been working on Kirby Air Riders 2, which is set to release on November 20, 2025. Now, until very recently, it was unclear what the post-launch plans were going to be for the game, such as whether it would get DLC or have some type of lite live service support. We now have clarity on this, though, and the clarity is Kirby Air Riders 2 will not have any DLC or post-launch support.
Now, this next part has not been confirmed, but this presumably means production of the next Super Smash Bros. game is going to begin, probably at the start of the year, as no doubt the studio is going to go on holiday after the release of Kirby Air Riders 2. Of course, this assumes that Sora’s next game will be the next Super Smash Bros. game, but this is a very safe and reasonable assumption for various reasons.
Vital Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Context
What does any of this have to do with a release date of the next Super Smash Bros. game? Well, let’s assume the next Super Smash Bros. game has been in some form of pre-production for a while now, and thus will be ready to begin production at or near the start of 2026. And let’s assume it will take a similar amount of time to develop as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Well, if we combine these two things, we can get a pretty good idea of when the game will release.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was roughly in development for two-and-a-half to three years. If the next game repeats this, then it will release sometime between the middle of 2028 to early 2029, which would put it around the middle of the Nintendo Switch 2 lifecycle.
Of course, take this speculation for what it is, which is speculation, but it’s speculation based on all of the current information and all of the previous salient history of the series. That said, and as always, feel free to leave a comment letting us know what you think, or join the conversation over on the ComicBook Forum.
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