Is Super Smash Bros. Ultimate online getting fixed?

In a surprise 8.1.0 patch that came with a new Small Battlefield stage, the official patch notes suggest that the overall online experience for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has been adjusted. Whilst it’s hard to know exactly what has been altered in the games, some users have already reported the online experience to be a little more stable than pre-patch.

(Picture: Nintendo)

According to a tweet by game director Masahiro Sakurai, this change will likely affect those looking to play 1-on-1 matches, and it may not be the last update to online play that we see.

In the tweet, Sakurai says: “By the way, connectivity when playing 1v1 online may be slightly improved with this update. Please give it a try!”

The update’s patch notes also suggest that the way matchmaking takes a player’s preferred rules into consideration has been adjusted. What’s more, it claims that further investigations and adjustments to the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate online experience can be expected before long. This comes as great news to the game’s fanbase, who have been waiting on improvements to the online matchmaking since the game launched in December 2018. 

(Picture: Nintendo)

Something that may have spurred the official Smash development team to improve online functionality is the arrival of fanmade rollback net code to GameCube favourite, Super Smash Bros. Melee. The classic game, which first released in 2001, still has an active following and with rollback net code delivering a flawless online experience, it’s currently the smoothest way to play a Smash Bros game online.

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We can only hope that improvements to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate can drastically boost the game’s standing in the fighting game community, and make the overall gameplay more enjoyable to both casual and competitive players.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate patch 8.1.0 is available now.