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Smash Ultimate’s Final Update—and the Love Story Behind It

Sora was Smash Ultimate’s final DLC fighter, but not its last update. Separate the 2021 balance patch from later maintenance—and Sakurai’s 2024 completion reflection.
Length3 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team
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Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s final fighter-balance update was version 13.0.1, released December 1, 2021. But that wasn’t the game’s last software update: Nintendo later added Sora amiibo compatibility and issued further maintenance patches. The more fitting emotional ending came in February 2024, when Masahiro Sakurai reflected on the Sora amiibo and the completion of the project. Calling that arc a love story is an interpretation—not Nintendo’s or Sakurai’s phrase—but the chronology gives it a lovely shape.

What was the final update for Smash Ultimate?

If “final update” means the last patch focused on fighter balance, it was version 13.0.1, released December 1, 2021. Nintendo’s update history describes balance adjustments and other gameplay improvements. The accompanying fighter-adjustment notes include a change to Sora: some animations when he is knocked down were adjusted to match those of other fighters. It was maintenance, not a new story chapter or another fighter release.

That distinction matters because the last fighter arrived first. Sora was added in version 13.0.0 on October 18, 2021, as part of the paid Sora Challenger Pack. Nintendo’s notes also record KINGDOM HEARTS spirits arriving in the in-game shop. The pack includes the Hollow Bastion stage, as identified on the official Smash Bros. site.

Was Sora the last character in Smash Ultimate?

Yes. Sora was the final DLC fighter added to the game. His arrival in version 13.0.0 marked the end of new fighter additions; version 13.0.1 followed with balance and gameplay adjustments. So the concise answer is: Sora was the last character, while the final fighter-balance patch came later.

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Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - US Version
  • New stages and fighters are joined by the combined rosters of every past Super Smash Bros. Game
  • Challenge others anytime, anywhere, whether you're on the couch or on the go
  • Play any way you want—locally, online, in TV mode, Tabletop mode, Handheld mode, or even with GameCube Controllers
  • Fight faster and smarter with new and returning techniques, like the perfect shield and directional air dodge
  • Face off in 2-4 player battles, or play against the computer
Milestone Date and version What it means
Final DLC fighter October 18, 2021 — version 13.0.0 Sora and the Sora Challenger Pack were added.
Fighter-balance update December 1, 2021 — version 13.0.1 Balance adjustments and other gameplay improvements; includes a Sora animation adjustment.
Later maintenance updates Versions 13.0.2–13.0.5, February 2024–September 2026 Updates after fighter balance, including amiibo compatibility and an online fix.

When did Smash Ultimate stop getting updates?

It did not stop with version 13.0.1. Nintendo’s current support history lists later updates: version 13.0.2 added Sora amiibo compatibility on February 14, 2024; versions 13.0.3 and 13.0.4 followed on October 8, 2024, and June 24, 2025; and version 13.0.5, dated September 1, 2026, addresses an online issue. Thus, “final update” is accurate for the last fighter-balance patch, not for the last update of any kind. Nintendo’s listed latest update is 13.0.5.

What did Sakurai say when the Sora amiibo came out?

In a post reported by Nintendo Life on February 16, 2024, Sakurai thanked those involved and praised the Sora amiibo’s design. The article reproduces the Japanese post and gives a DeepL English translation. In that translation, Sakurai says: “Now that all the fighters have been converted into amiibo, the work on ‘Smash Bros SP’ has finally come to an end.” This is a translated quotation reported by Nintendo Life, not wording from Nintendo’s version 13.0.2 patch notes.

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Why is the final Smash Ultimate update a love story?

The phrase is a way to read the arc, not a name Nintendo or Sakurai gave it. The game’s last fighter was Sora, a character whose arrival turned the final DLC reveal into a moment of closure for the roster. Years later, the Sora amiibo became the subject of Sakurai’s reported reflection that the work on Smash Bros. SP had finally ended.

There is no need to claim that a particular fan campaign caused Sora’s inclusion, or to speculate about negotiations, to see the emotional symmetry: the final fighter entered the game, then his amiibo helped mark the project’s later completion milestone. The December 2021 balance patch is the technical answer to “what was the final update?” The 2024 post supplies a different kind of ending—a farewell associated with the character who completed the roster.

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