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It appears that this year’s EVO event will not feature any appearance from Nintendo beat-em-up series Super Smash Bros.
As per a tweet from the official EVO account, it’ll be the first time in fifteen years the series hasn’t been a part of the most famous fighting game tournament. The brief statement implied that the absence was Nintendo’s decision. “We are saddened that Nintendo has chosen not to continue that legacy with us this year. In the future, we hope to once again celebrate the Super Smash Bros. community alongside them.”
Neither Nintendo nor EVO have given any further indication as to the reasons for the decision at this time. However, Video Games Chronicle spotted that Nintendo signed a deal last November with PandaGlobal to create an officially licensed circuit. Neither party has confirmed this is the cause at the time of writing mind, so for now we’ll have to speculate.
It’s also worth noting that the EVO Championship Series was acquired by PlayStation back in March of last year. At the time, PlayStation said despite the deal it would keep the event open to all platforms. There hasn’t been an in-person event since 2019 due to the ongoing global pandemic. The organisation hosted the event online in the interim, with a break in 2020 due to allegations against its former CEO.
EVO hopes that will change this year, scheduling the 2022 event to take place in Las Vegas, Nevada between August 5 and August 7. An announcement show naming this year’s line-up will take place on March 8. Super Smash Bros Ultimate meanwhile got its final DLC character in Sora from the Kingdom Hearts series back in October.
— EVO (@EVO) February 26, 2022
