The future of the Super Smash Bros. franchise at the Evolution Championship Series, the world's largest fighting game event, has been brought into question. Sony Interactive Entertainment has purchased Evo in a joint venture with esports group RTS. The move sees Evo moving forward under from last year's controversies under the PlayStation umbrella. However, due to Sony's stake in the console market and the shift to an online-only event, there is growing concern over non-PlayStation games like Super Smash Bros. being hosted at the event.
Due to the effects of COVID-19, Evo 2020 went online-only, breaking from its usual in-person event at Mandalay Bay. This move saw the replacement of its entire game lineup with games with rollback netcode. The original games were moved to exhibition roles, but there was one notable exception; with the change in lineup, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was removed from Evo 2020 entirely - though the event itself never ended up taking place.
Accusations of sexual misconduct leveled at Evo CEO Joey "Mr. Wiz" Cuellar resulted in numerous companies pulling from Evo, and the event was cancelled, with ownership transferred to EVO co-founders Tom and Tony Cannon. Sony's purchase of Evo sees the duo shifted to an advisory role and promises a chance for Evo to continue on after 2020's events. The buyout also lends itself to the question of the future of Super Smash Bros. at the event, though, due to its status as a Nintendo-exclusive game.
Will Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Be At PlayStation's Evo 2021?
In a statement on Twitter, Evo Director of Global Business Development Mark "MarkMan23" Julio said, "[Evo] is still open to all platforms. The teams at PlayStation and RTS are enabling us to continue working with our community to support fighting games." Speaking to IGN, Nintendo itself said it will "continue to assess Evo, and other opportunities, as we plan for future online and offline Super Smash Bros. tournament activity."
Taken together, these statements seem to indicate Nintendo's continued involvement in Evo is a very good possibility, so long as Nintendo itself decides to pursue Evo as a tournament venue for the Smash Bros. franchise. PlayStation and RTS are seemingly open to letting games like Nintendo's flagship brawler make the lineup in future years - a good sign for fans who want to see Smash Bros. represented on the fighting game community's biggest stage.
With the title being removed from the Evo Online lineup last year, there's no true certainty about Smash Bros. Ultimate's place in the Evo's upcoming lineup. However, with all companies involved hinting that the door is open, the future looks hopeful for Smash's Evo return. Super Smash Bros. remains one of Nintendo's hottest franchises and, barring any problems brought on by its netcode, its place at the FGC's largest gathering seems to be in Nintendo's hands.
Source: MarkMan23/Twitter, IGN