Super Smash Bros Ultimate’s Latest Update May Indicate They Are Winding Down

Super Smash Bros Ultimate has received a new update. This one might be one of the last important ones the game is going to get.

As reported by Nintendo Everything, Nintendo’s official patch notes for this update simply says this:

“Updates for compatibility with the Sora amiibo, which is scheduled to be released soon.”

As we had reported all the way back in December, the Sora amiibo was up for preorder as early as that month, and it is scheduled for release tomorrow, February 16, 2024.

Sora of course made it to Super Smash Bros Ultimate’s roster for two reasons; he was one of the most highly requested characters, and Nintendo had a good relationship with Square Enix, which allowed them to use the company’s characters for this game.

Sora is likely as close as Super Smash Bros Ultimate will ever get to adding Mickey Mouse to the game, as Sora is so closely associated with the now public domain character thanks to the Kingdom Hearts franchise.

Well, maybe Nintendo could add Mickey Mouse now thanks to his new public domain status. But, if anything, the character should have gotten added into the Super Smash Bros franchise because of Epic Mickey, Warren Spector’s classic 3D platformer that has sadly become mostly forgotten today.

In any case, Sora was the last amiibo to be made for the game. Sora himself was added in, with his subsequent stage, Hollow Bastion, as well as songs and spirits as part of Challenger Pack 11, released back in October 18, 2021.

Super Smash Bros Ultimate amiibo, when scanned into the game, give you a Figure Player, basically an AI version of the amiibo character, who you can fight, and subsequently, train to become a better fighter.

Subsequently, you can gain rewards from playing with and training your Figure Player. If you scan the amiibo again, it will give out sets of rewards like Spirit Points, Gold Coins, Snacks, and even music. These rewards are given out based on how much you have played with your Figure Player. But, even if that Figure Player has maxxed out to level 5, you can continue to earn rewards in this way.

So in a way, this Sora amiibo is the last major content update that Super Smash Bros Ultimate will receive. The game can still get updates for Spirit Events, but mainly all remaining development for this game is effectively over.

Of course, with Masahiro Sakurai hinting that he was closing his YouTube channel soon, we have the hints in front of us that the next Super Smash Bros will soon begin development. We don’t know what form the next title will take, as speculation has grown from Sakurai’s statements that Nintendo may choose to reboot the franchise and start the roster over.

But whichever way the company will go, this next Super Smash Bros may once again set the standard for the fighting game genre in the industry.