Nintendo unveiled a slate of enhanced "Nintendo Switch 2 Editions" for several prominent games during its latest Nintendo Direct presentation, yet Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was conspicuously absent from the lineup. This omission stands out, especially considering the game's significant commercial success on the original Switch, where it remains the third best-selling title.
Six games are confirmed to be receiving the Switch 2 treatment. Among the first-party titles, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity Definitive Edition will offer improved visuals, frame rates, increased enemy counts, and a new Calamity Mode, alongside all previously released Expansion Pass content. Pikmin 4 is set to receive voice commands for the character Oatchi and a new Dandori Academy mode on November 12. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 will feature a new hero named Shimmer and a Hero's Vault mode for enhanced combat training.
Third-party titles are also included in this wave of upgrades. The Witcher 3's Remastered Edition is slated for a September release on Switch 2, while the cozy simulator Palia will introduce seasonal updates, community events, and new Echo Expeditions with its Switch 2 Edition in December. Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII Reunion, which initially launched for the Switch in 2022, will also join the enhanced lineup.
The absence of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate from this list is puzzling. Despite its status as a flagship title and a consistent top seller, it has not received any Switch 2-related updates. Speculation about the possibility of an all-new Smash Bros. game has circulated, but even in that scenario, an enhanced edition of Ultimate could serve to bridge the gap and provide time for franchise development, potentially allowing lead director Masahiro Sakurai or a successor to refine the direction of the series.
One potential explanation for Ultimate's exclusion involves complex licensing agreements. Updating the game for a new platform might require renegotiating terms with the numerous third-party intellectual property holders whose characters appear as fighters. Agreements for characters like Banjo-Kazooie and Steve from Minecraft, now owned by Xbox, could present significant logistical and legal hurdles, potentially making a Switch 2 Edition infeasible without new, complex negotiations.