Super Smash Bros Ultimate stopped getting updated in 2021 and fans have been speculating the future of the platform fighter ever since. Here’s what we know about Super Smash Bros 6.
Ultimate stands as one of the most popular Nintendo Switch titles due to its competitive gameplay and the massive roster of iconic characters from across gaming history. Over 34 million copies have been sold and the esports scene is going strong despite Nintendo’s best efforts. Now that updates are done, will another Super Smash Bros be coming?
Here’s what’s known about the game so far.
Is Super Smash Bros 6 confirmed?
Super Smash Bros 6 has not been confirmed by Nintendo or Bandai Namco Entertainment. However, series director Masahiro Sakurai has strongly suggested that a new Smash Bros game will be made in the future.
After retiring from Smash, Sakurai started a YouTube series featuring behind-the-scenes info about his popular titles. During one video, Sakurai said that Smash Bros is a “massive, important” game so it’s “fair to assume” another is coming.
Sakurai was asked what will “happen next” after Ultimate. He stated the game would be released “at some point” but Nintendo hasn’t confirmed any details just yet.
It would make sense for the game to come out on the next-gen Nintendo console. While Smash games have been released across multiple platforms in the past, they haven’t crossed multiple generations. Major Nintendo releases like The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess have gotten this treatment, but this has never been the case for Smash.
Is Sakurai making the next Smash Bros game?
Masahiro Sakurai announced a “semi-retirement” from game development in 2022. Because of this, it’s unknown what sort of role he might have with the series moving forward.
The Smash community has long had a meme that Sakurai will never rest. This is due to the passionate director sharing stories about his frightening work schedule and lack of sleep in the past. This included working while having food poisoning, and even using an IV while at the office. Because of this, Smash fans have joked with one another that they are not letting Sakurai rest whenever they’d ask for Ultimate DLC.

Despite taking a step back from game development, Sakurai himself has said it’d be hard to stand back and watch the game be created from the sidelines.
“If I were to hand over the work to someone else, it would be a full-time, multi-person designated workload…It’s faster and more accurate to do it myself than to tell someone else over and over again what to do,” Sakurai said to Nintendo Dream in an interview.
Alongside questions about Sakurai’s involvement is uncertainty regarding Bandai Namco’s work on the series. Bandai Namco developed Smash Bros 4 and Smash Bros Ultimate. The company has been struggling in recent years, canceling projects, making moves to reduce its workforce, and selling the IP rights to Elden Ring.
In 2023, the studio had put up job listings that explained the employees would be working on games “commissioned by Nintendo.” one of the job descriptions had stated that an upcoming game had a “side view,” which had gamers immediately thinking of Smash. But in 2024, it reportedly scrapped a contracted game development project with Nintendo.
It’s unknown whether this was related to the Smash Bros series, but Smash 6 could look very different than its predecessors.