The truth is, nobody in the Smash community even knows when the next DLC fighter will be announced, revealed, or added to the game. Based on past release dates, it could be the end of February or it could be in April. Or it could be basically any date in 2021. 

But the possibly long wait for fighter #79 has only made the Smash community speculate and dig even harder into who this next DLC may be. And right now, it's looking like it's Crash Bandicoot. (Which means it might not be if we learned anything about Sakurai over the past few DLC announcements.) 

Here is why the next Smash DLC is most likely Crash Bandicoot meaning it may not be and we have no idea

Let's get this out of the way: The Smash community really thought Crash Bandicoot would be the last DLC to be announced. Instead, we got Final Fantasy antagonist, Sephiroth. Which, as you know, is nowhere near the same thing. 

So why did Smash fans think it was Crash's time to make an Ultimate appearance? Well, in recent years, Crash Bandicoot has been making a huge comeback. The N.Sane Trilogy was released on every console and platform, including the Nintendo Switch. That was definitely a cause for conversation since Crash has long been Mario's biggest rival in the early days of both series. 

Then Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time was announced with a release date for early October. This seemed to seal the deal for most of the Smash community. Including Crash in Smash seemed like it coincided quite perfectly with this new game launch. It was almost like it was meant to be. Which of course means Sakurai couldn't wait to surprise everyone with yet another swordie. And this time it was the longest sword to ever exist. 

But even though Crash didn't show up in Smash in December, there are still rumors floating around that the marsupial will make his appearance sometime this year. He might even be the next DLC fighter. 

There's allegedly been a leaked Activision document that discussed the developer's plans for Crash Bandicoot. The "five-year plan" included Crash becoming a fighter in Smash Bros. in 2021. Seeing as it took five years for Minecraft Steve to finally show up in Smash, it doesn't seem too wild of a speculation that getting Crash Bandicoot into the game would also be an extensive journey for the classic character. 

There's also a rumor that Crash Bandicoot is getting an amiibo figure. While this would be for his games on the Switch, characters that get the amiibo treatment often come to Smash. There is no proof of Crash getting this long-speculated and discussed amiibo — but Monster Hunter is getting a few. 

So maybe the next Smash fighter will be from Monster Hunter. Or maybe it's a character from Tales of Arise, a highly-anticipated Japanese RPG from Bandai Namco. Lloyd Irving's Mii costume was not carried over to Ultimate, which is very suspicious. Let's also not forget that Overwatch made it to the Nintendo Switch. Or it honestly could be a character from Doom or Rayman, if a 2020 4chan post is to be believed... I mean, they did correctly predict the other fighters on the pass thus far.

The possibilities are endless. And Sakurai is most likely exhausted by everyone's leaks and rumors. It will probably be a character nobody has on their radar if the other DLC fighters are any indication. And this means there's an even bigger chance that Captain Toad will be pick-axing his way into battle and that's really all I am Sakurai to do. Just this one thing.