Super Smash Bros Ultimate’s fifth DLC fighter is expected to be unveiled at The Game Awards on December 12 – and there is a boatload of information to comb through regarding the fighter’s identity.
Two leakers have dominated the Smash Bros news cycle: Vergeben and Sabi. Despite both having sound reputations regarding leaks in the past, neither has outright revealed the identity of Ultimate’s fifth fighter. Instead, their sources have been deconfirming rumors, leading fans toward only a handful of remaining possibilities.
Who isn’t Fighter Five?
Popular possibilities such as Ninja Gaiden’s Ryu Hayabusa, Dante from Devil May Cry, Doomslayer, Geno, Scorpion, Lloyd Irving from Tales of Symphonia, Kingdom Hearts’ Sora, Half-Life’s Gordon Freeman, Crash Bandicoot and Tracer from Overwatch have all been deconfirmed at some point.
However, not only were individual characters deconfirmed – so too were entire developers. Of those, Ubisoft, Bandai Namco, Level-5, Nippon Ichi Software and Falcom were ruled out.
What company is Fighter Five from?
On December 7, an interesting development occurred when Vergeben originally deconfirmed several additional companies, but later had to retract his leaks. According to the leaker, he gave his source a list of companies to deconfirm and presented each with an example. For instance, he asked his source to rule out “Blizzard characters (such as Tracer from Overwatch)” and the source ruled out Tracer – but not Blizzard as a whole.
When presenting his findings, Vergeben stated that his source had ruled out all Blizzard characters, but later corrected himself and explained that there was a miscommunication. However, according to fellow leaker Sabi, the fifth fighter is from a company that had been incorrectly dismissed on December 7, which was why Vergeben promptly retracted his claim.
https://twitter.com/New_WabiSabi/status/1204114843348819968
If Sabi is to be believed, this means Ultaimte’s upcoming character could hail from Capcom, Sega, Konami, Arc System Works, Spike Chunsoft, Marvelous, Epic Games, Bethesda, Koei Tecmo, Activision, Blizzard, Microsoft, Square Enix or Nintendo. However, previously deconfirmed fighters remain deconfirmed, such as Dante, Geno, Tracer or Doomslayer.
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Who is Fighter Five?
With the list now narrowed to a handful of developers, there are some front-runners who stand as potential candidates. With Resident Evil spirits added to the game, it is possible that Nintendo may have been preparing players for the arrival of a Capcom fighter.
Resident Evil does have a history on Nintendo, with Resident Evil 4 being a timed exclusive on the Gamecube. When it comes to gaming history, Resident Evil 4 was at one point regarded as the best game ever made, which would make Leon S Kennedy a sensible option to round out the Fighter Pass.
Another very possible option would be Tomb Raider’s Lara Croft. Nintendo has yet to add a female character as DLC, and with Square Enix on the table, it would make sense to see one of the most iconic women in gaming make an appearance in Smash.
While many may have at one point laughed at the concept of Halo’s Master Chief being added, the fact that Nintendo and Microsoft worked together to bring Banjo to the game speaks volumes – combined with the fact that the two companies have a good relationship (and there’s a recipe to break the internet). Master Chief has always been a possibility lurking in the shadows for fans, and it may be time for him to finish the fight.
Finally, it’s very easy to forget that Nintendo themselves have a wide variety of characters at their disposal. Many fans were disappointed when Waluigi wasn’t added to the game, but he could be next up, as well. Additionally, Fire Emblem Five Houses could likewise receive a fighter, or even one of the many new Pokemon from Sword and Shield. There are endless possibilities that Nintendo could choose from with characters they already own.
While the mystery of Fighter Five has been very exciting, it’s important to note that more fighters are in development, and a second Fighter Pass is expected to be announced too, so anyone ruled out could eventually be added at a later date.
The fifth fighter is planned for release no later than February 29, 2020.