EVO 2022 confirms ‘Nintendo has chosen’ Smash Bros. will not return

EVO, the long-running fighting game tournament has revealed that Super Smash Bros. will not be part of the 2022 event.

In a post to Twitter, The Evolution Championship Series, commonly known as EVO, revealed that Nintendo has opted out of appearing as part of this year’s event.

“Since 2007, we’ve seen historic Super Smash Bros. moments created at Evo’s events. We are saddened that Nintendo has chosen not to continue that legacy with us with year.”

It added: “In the future, we hope to once again celebrate the Super Smash Bros. community alongside them.”

It’s currently unclear why Nintendo opted to remove Super Smash Bros. from the event, however, it may be in part caused by the fact that in November Nintendo partnered with eSports brand PandaGlobal to create “the first officially licensed circuit for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Super Smash Bros. Melee to North America.”

Since 2014, one or more Super Smash Bros. games has been included as part of the event each year. The last Evo event took place in 2019, with 2020’s event being cancelled due to the Covid 19 pandemic.

Super Smash Bros. first appeared at the 2007 EVO event, where player Ken Hoang won the inaugural Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament.

In 2013, Super Smash Bros. Melee was selected by the community as the eighth game included in the event via a charity donation drive.

Nintendo of America initially sent a cease and desist in order to cancel the event, however, the backlash was so significant, especially due to the fact that the event was raising money for charity, that the matches proceeded as planned.

On March 18, 2021, it was announced that Evo have been acquired by Sony Interactive Entertainment and the talent agency Endeavor. At the time, Sony stated that the new ownership would not affect the competition’s ability to host games that were not available on Sony’s platforms.