The team behind Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl hasn't been shy about their aspirations for this quirky little fighting game. From the get-go, it was always meant to be played competitively, and now it will be on the day of launch itself.
That's right - I hope the competitors are fast learners, because the first tournament is set for October 5, this Tuesday. Super Smash Bros. stars such as Mew2King and PPMD will participate in the event, and it will be live on the official Nickelodeon Twitch channel.
Details are scarce on who else will be involved, and what prize is up for grabs, but the announcement reads as follows:
The official Nickelodeon Twitch Channel is throwing an invitational tournament, “Nicktoon Throwdown Invitational” in honor of the new game Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl, starting Tuesday, October 5 through Saturday, October 9. In this weeklong event, eight of the top esports champions, including Mew2King, PPMD, and Fumblynn will compete in thrilling exhibition matches for a grand prize.
It's unsurprising to see Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl hit the ground running like this. As we've reported in the past, developer Ludocity is really leaning into the competitive fighting game scene, saying: "Nickelodeon is absolutely on board with having the game be competitively viable. That’s been in the conversation from the start. That’s why they came to us". Indeed, Ludocity past work includes Slap City, another game with Smash Bros. inspirations.
Not only that, but the game will apparently use rollback netcode in its online play, on some platforms at least. This is seen as the superior way to play fighting games online, to the point where many in the fighting game community are frustrated that Nintendo doesn't use it. Notoriously, both Smash Bros 4 and Ultimate's online play is less than stellar, so many were excited to see this unassuming child-friendly fighter fill the gap.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl launches across PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC this Tuesday. On the same day, you can watch pros fight for the top spot on Twitch, with the finals set for October 9.