Following PlayStation's purchase of the Evo tournament, Nintendo's extremely popular Super Smash Bros. series will not appear at this year's event. Starting out as a Street Fighter tournament back in 1996, the annual esports event now sees gamers from around the world compete in titles like Super Smash Bros., Tekken and Mortal Kombat. PlayStation's acquisition of the Evo fighting game tournament took place in March 2021, and the move seems to be having drastic consequences.

Held in Las Vegas, Nevada, the yearly Evo tournament draws a multinational crowd of competitors and spectators. The esports event sees players test their skills in the industry's most popular fighting games, with the lineup of titles evolving every year to include modern releases. The Super Smash Bros. franchise has long been a staple of Evo, with most esports athletes gravitating towards Melee or Ultimate. In the past developer Nintendo has been reluctant to allow the inclusion of Smash Bros., with the entertainment juggernaut ordering a cease and desist at the 2013 tournament. PlayStation's purchase of Evo last year made Smash Bros. still being hosted at the Evo tournament unlikely, with Nintendo assessing the situation at the time.

Related: What Sony's Evo Purchase Means For Non-PlayStation Games

It has now been officially confirmed by Evo (via Twitter) that Super Smash Bros. titles will not appear at Evo 2022. The announcement reveals that Nintendo has chosen to remove its beloved crossover fighting game series from the event, though Evo suggests that the beloved titles could return for future tournaments. While it is not specified why Nintendo has pulled Smash Bros. from the event, it seems likely that PlayStation's acquisition is to blame. This year's Evo tournament will be held in August in Las Vegas, with an announcement show coming to Twitch on March 8.

By pulling Super Smash Bros. out of the event's lineup, Nintendo has deprived Evo of its most coveted attraction. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was Evo 2019's most popular game, with the all-inclusive platform brawler drawing in more registered competitors than any other game. The latest entry in the beloved series astonished fans by featuring a truly enormous roster, which grew even larger thanks to post-launch downloadable content. Smash Bros. Ultimate's huge success in past years, and its increased competitive potential thanks to DLC, will make its absence from Evo 2022 a massive disappointment.

Many fans speculated that Super Smash Bros. would be left out of Evo 2022, and those individuals have sadly been proven correct. Now that the annual competition is owned by PlayStation, its direct rival, it makes sense for Nintendo to remove its hugely successful franchise from Evo 2022. Unfortunately, this decision will also hurt Super Smash Bros. fans who have remained so dedicated to Nintendo's crossover series.

Next: Smash Ultimate Sets Evo Viewership Record

Source: Evo/Twitter