Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Gets An Update, But Not The One You Want

In what feels like a monkey’s paw situation, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate unexpectedly received a new patch–but unlike recent updates for other major Nintendo games, this Smash update doesn’t include any Switch 2-specific features.

The Ver. 13.0.5 patch for Ultimate fixes “behavior that occurs when invalid data is sent or received in online battles,” according to the Nintendo Support website. It isn’t clear from the patch notes (or note, rather) what “invalid data” refers to, but some users on Reddit speculated that the update targets mods.

Meanwhile, fellow Switch 1 game Mario Kart 8 Deluxe received a hefty 4.0.0 update with substantial features for Switch 2 users, including split-screen support for up to eight players, camera support, shorter loading times, and higher resolutions. Pikmin 3 Deluxe also got a similar Switch 2 update this week.

It’s a disappointing time for Smash Bros. fans, with not a single hint of a new Smash game or a proper Switch 2 update for Ultimate, whether that comes in the form of a free patch or a Switch 2 Edition with new content.

There’s a laundry list of features that players would love to see in a Switch 2 version of Smash Bros. Ultimate, including new characters, additional stages, increased resolution, and implementation of rollback netcode. The only Switch 2-related update that Ultimate received came in June 2025, fixing an issue where online matches with Mii Fighters would end immediately if one of the players was playing on a Switch 2.

Development for new content ended in 2021 after the addition of Sora from Kingdom Hearts capped off Ultimate’s DLC. The latest title from Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai is Kirby Air Riders, which launched last November with no DLC planned. Perhaps Smash fans should bet on a new Smash game coming instead of an Ultimate update, though we can probably all agree that Sakurai deserves a break.