Smash Bros. Ultimate Director Working On DLC Remotely

Many video game companies, from Rockstar to Microsoft, have had to adopt remote work practices due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced many parts of the world into lockdown. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai has announced he is taking similar measures to continue working on the Switch fighting game.

On his Twitter account (as translated by Siliconera), Sakurai reveals that he'll be supervising work on Smash Bros. Ultimate remotely. Sakurai says this setup poses some difficulty as the game is a "high security project," but acknowledges that it is necessary given the circumstances.

In his column for Famitsu magazine last month, Sakurai noted that Smash Bros. Ultimate's DLC characters could be delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "My plans to present new fighter proposal(s) to publisher(s) have been delayed indefinitely as I haven’t been able to meet up with those involved," he wrote. Because of this, Sakurai said "there is the possibility we are not able to work on development as scheduled."

During its surprise Nintendo Direct Mini presentation last month, Nintendo announced that the next Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC fighter will be from Arms, Switch's 2017 extendable arm fighting game. Nintendo didn't confirm which character will be making the cut, but it teased that the fighter will be revealed and released sometime this June.

Whoever the new DLC character ends up being, they'll be the first to arrive as part of the Fighters Pass Vol. 6, which will add six additional playable characters--one more than the previous Fighters Pass--to the game. The pass costs $30 USD, and those who purchase it receive a bonus Mii Fighter costume based on the Ancient Soldier gear from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.