Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's Next DLC Fighter Is Minecraft Steve

Following a brief tease, Nintendo has announced the new Smash character for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It's Steve from Minecraft, the blocky pickaxe-wielding hero, and he's joined by a few other characters from the famous game. As you'd expect with a series this big, it's already getting a big reaction on social media.

Minecraft Steve Moves And Alt-Skins

In the reveal trailer, Steve was spotted building walls, crafting items like swords, and summoning TNT blocks. He's able to jump atop blocks that he places to get out of tight spots, and we saw some constructed materials like switches being dispatched to fling enemies or anvils to crush them. The building materials appear to crack rather quickly, though, so don't expect persistent building like Fortnite. At one point we even got a glimpse of a minecart complete with tracks. It's unclear exactly how Steve can weaponize this. If he can weaponize lava, however, he can probably run over enemies with his cart.

The presentation showed a few alternate skins for the new Smash character: Alex, Enderman, and Zombie. We also got a brief glimpse at a Minecraft-themed stage, which appears to be able to swap between different biomes. The trailer showed a forest as it appears lush and green, wilted in the fall, and snowy in the winter. Steve's short arms will limit his ability to control space with melee, but he seems to have a few tricks. He's also not completely the same shape across the different skins. However, it's likely that his hitbox and attack distance will be shared from skin to skin.

So far, at least, one iconic piece of Minecraft lore appears to be conspicuously missing. The Creeper, the exploding green enemy that appears all over Minecraft ads and merch, is no where to be found. It's very possible that the creature will be part of Steve's special moves.

A Closer Look At Minecraft Live

Masahiro Sakurai appeared to make some brief comments on the addition. He said that Nintendo often comes to him with ideas and he thought this one, in particular, would be a challenge. He said the hardest part was making sure the block-building mechanic would work on all the existing stages. More information is coming during Minecraft Live on October 3. At 7:30 AM PT / 10:30 AM ET, we'll likely get a better look at how Steve fights. That event will also allow fans at home to vote for the next Minecraft mob.

How To Get New Smash Characters

Steve is the second new Smash character to be added as part of the Fighter's Pass Vol. 2. The first was Min Min from Arms, who was added in June. Nintendo announced that the Fighter's Pass 2 would include six new fighters, an increase from the five that were included in the original Fighter's Pass, so four more are coming. Steve will be purchasable for $6 in the Challenger Pack 7, or in the bundle of all six characters for $30.

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Smash Bros. Ultimate has still been issuing updates aside from new fighters, like an August update that added a free new stage called Small Battlefield. As you might expect, it was a shrunken version of the popular Battlefield stage.

Smash Bros. remains one of Nintendo's most popular games, currently standing at #3 in its Nintendo Switch software sales rankings right behind Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It has sold almost 20 million units worldwide, according to Nintendo.