No plans for more Super Smash Bros. Ultimate characters after Fighters Pass Vol. 2, Sakurai says

(Image credit: Nintendo)

The next six challengers headed to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate may be all that's coming.

According to translations (via PushDustin and Ryokutya2089) of Smash Bros. game director Masahiro Sakurai's latest Weekly Famitsu column, neither he nor Nintendo currently plan to make any more fighters for the game beyond the second Fighters Pass. That will bring the total number of playable characters in the game up to 88. Just to put things in perspective for a moment, that's enough to do 11 huge, chaotic 8-player battles back to back without repeating any characters. Or to allow for 7,656 unique 1v1 matchups, not counting mirror matches.

Keep in mind that Sakurai saying 'there are no plans for more DLC fighters' is not the same as him saying they will definitely not make any more. Sakurai also added that he and Nintendo are not planning any more entries in the Super Smash Bros. series right now. However, Sakurai has been talking about each Smash Bros. game being his last since at least the days of Brawl, so you shouldn't necessarily put too much stock in that either.

The final selection of characters for Fighters Pass Vol. 2 has already been made, Sakurai restated, and he also pointed out that Nintendo made the selections, not him. So don't get mad at him if it's full of new Pokemon and anime swordsmen.

The final character of the first Fighters Pass, Byleth from Fire Emblem: Three Houses, was added to the game in January. We don't know when the first character from the next one will arrive (or if it will actually be Crash Bandicoot). Nintendo has confirmed that the final portion of the second Fighters Pass will be released by December 2021 at the latest.

Cool your fighting spirit for a moment with our relaxing Animal Crossing: New Horizons hands-on preview.

Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.

Latest in Super Smash Bros
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Super Smash Bros. creator says instead of making more "Americanized works," Japanese devs should "seek the uniqueness and fun of Japanese games"
Minecraft characters Alex and Steve riding in mine carts in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, being chased by Bowser Jr..
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate villain Minecraft Steve is the star of the "best Smash clip of all time," as genius player makes a literal Trojan Horse to destroy an unsuspecting opponent
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS key art.
Masahiro Sakurai says Super Smash Bros "might have died out" if not for late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata: "There's no doubt that he influenced me in many ways"
Luigi fighting Snake in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
After packing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate with content, Masahiro Sakurai unsurprisingly says that working out a game's volume from the start is important
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Isabelle
Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai says he'll make a game "even if it's the opposite of what I like," because "you have to think of it as work, not entertainment"
Fox from Star Fox surfs on a space ship against a cloudy sky
Super Smash Bros Melee Major ends up the first in 20 years to feature an all-new top 4, and the winner almost refunded his flight when he saw his "scary" bracket
Latest in News
Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows has been the series' best launch since Valhalla, but that was "a perfect storm we may never see again," says Ubisoft
Hideo Kojima
Death Stranding 2 Japanese voice recording has officially "wrapped," director Hideo Kojima says: "Thank you so much"
Moana in Moana 2
Disney Plus finally adds heavily requested feature, and we're surprised it took this long
Monster Hunter Wilds screenshot showing lagiacrus holding a monster down
Monster Hunter fans lose their minds as Monster Hunter Wilds confirms Lagiacrus will return this summer, finally answering 7 years of prayers
Alienware Area-51 16-inch and 18-inch RTX 5080 gaming laptops on a purple background
Brand new RTX 5080 Alienware Area-51 gaming laptops just hit the shelves at Dell
Sean Astin holds up a Samwise Gamgee minifigure while seated at a table in front of Lego The Shire, with other Lord of the Rings kits around him in a cottage room
Samwise Gamgee reveals Lego The Shire in a video nostalgic enough to make you tear up