In a surprising announcement, Super Smash Bros will not be part of the lineup at this year’s EVO.
Over the weekend (February 26), the official EVO Twitter account released a statement announcing that Super Smash Bros would not be featured at the event.
“While we’re thankful for all the amazing games joining us later this year in Las Vegas, we want to let you know in advance that Super Smash Bros. will not be making a return appearance,” reads the announcement. “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.”
EVO has been running since 1996, and for the first time in 2007 introduced Super Smash Bros Melee into the games players could compete in. This will be the first time since then that a Smash Bros game will not be featured at EVO. It’s not entirely clear why Nintendo has made the decision to not allow Smash Bros to appear at EVO.
Last year Sony acquired EVO, so that could always be a factor. And Nintendo has announced a partnership with esports group Panda to form an official Smash Bros circuit. And that circuit will feature Melee, a game Nintendo has typically tried to ignore in the competitive scene. So it’s not like they are against Smash Bros being played competitively these days.
Unfortunately, in typical Nintendo fashion, we likely won’t find out. Hopefully the partnership with Panda will prove to be successful. So that way at least the competitive smash scene won’t die out.
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Featured Image Credit: Nintendo/ EVO