Nintendo Pulls Super Smash Bros. From The Evo 2022 Esports Tournament

Following its usual announcement of which games will be participating in the 2022 event, the fighting game also announced via Twitter that "Super Smash Bros. is not coming back", which left many fans confused. The tournament organizer shared the announcement via Twitter, noting that the company is saddened that the game will not be part of this year's roster. No specific reason was given, and the Evo Twitter account only claimed that it was Nintendo's decision not to participate in this year's Evo tournament, though tournament organizers hope Super Smash Bros will return in a day.

After PlayStation bought the Evo Tournament, Nintendo's hugely popular Super Smash Bros. will not appear at the event this year. According to tournament organizers, Nintendo has decided to no longer allow Super Smash Bros to be played or streamed at EVO 2022 this year. Nintendo will no longer allow its games to compete in the Evo World Fighting Championship tournament, according to a statement released on Twitter by the organizers of the event.

Evo Championship announced this on Twitter and stated that the community is really saddened by the departure of a major fighting game. Unfortunately, the 2022 edition will be out as Nintendo no longer wants to work with the Evo league. Nintendo has mentioned that Nintendo wishes the best for EVO 2022 and will continue to consider EVO in the future after the purchase.

If you're looking forward to the next EVO 2022 tournament, regardless of Nintendo's announcement, it will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada. After hosting an online tournament last year due to the ongoing pandemic, Nintendo may host it in person this year. While you won't see any Super Smash Bros games, there are sure to be many games in the lineup that will make the upcoming EVO 2022 an exciting tournament. Team EVO recently released a statement saying that the full list of fighting games featured in this year's tournament will be revealed on March 8th.

Neither EVO nor Nintendo have given a reason why Super Smash Bros. was expelled from EVO. The Sony-owned fight event announces that Smash Bros will not be participating in an in-person event this year following the departure of Nintendo. Confirmed shows that Nintendo has decided to remove Nintendo's beloved crossover fighting game series from the Evo Tournament, although Evo suggests that the beloved games may return for future tournaments. The Nintendo Super Smash Bros. franchise, which has been a staple of Sony-owned fighting games for years, will not be showcased at the in-person event.

Evo 2022 announced the loss of Super Smash Bros in a tweet today, and appeared to blame the decision on Nintendo, which has tried in the past to tightly control how its games are presented in physical form. Smash fans may want to see their favorite Super Smash Bros and Melee players battle as usual in the Evolution Championship series, but according to EVO's Twitter account, Nintendo has decided to remove Smash from the tournament roster. The announcement is another blow to the competitive Smash Bros community, as Nintendo has made it clear that Nintendo is unwilling to support esports initiatives unless the company specifically does so. Many fans were upset by the cancellation, pointing to the event as yet another example of Nintendo disrupting a 100% fan-made esports community.

As noted, Nintendo (which seeks to regulate the use of its video games by various entities) has failed in its attempt to stop the Evo organizers from streaming the Tremendous Smash Bros. event live. Smash Bros' access to a competitor or the recent EVO and Smash-related sexual harassment scandals may have prompted Nintendo to avoid the event for now.

Nintendo has a rocky history with the Smash fighting game community, so it's unknown if Nintendo actually has any long-term plans to support Smash, or if the community trusts Nintendo enough to invest heavily in licensing activities. Nintendo may be looking to gain more control over competitive Smash by withdrawing the Super Smash Bros from esports tournaments so they can create a more isolated licensed professional Smash network. Some believe this choice is because Sony bought the Evo tournament last year, but it's much more likely because Nintendo is partnering with esports brand Panda Global to host the first officially licensed tournaments for Super Smash Bros.

Sony also bought EVO last August, and Nintendo provided a statement to IGN that Nintendo "will continue to value EVO" and now it looks like the decision has been made. Pro Smash Bros. Melee and former Evo 2022 winner Juan 'hungry box' Debedma advised players to host their own August tournament in Las Vegas 5, the same weekend as Evo 2022.