Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[Noipoi]

They've also consistently released next gen mainline titles every three years since 2013 and the only titles that don't follow this pattern before that are Pokémon Diamond/Pearl and Pokémon Black/White.

There's nothing saying they have to (and they really shouldn't), but it's also highly likely given precedent.

We’re diving into the wacky realm of speculation so bear with me for a second.

Legends Arceus came out in January 2022. Now I dunno about you, but I associate January with being the month where nothing of note happens. It’s just after the highly lucrative holiday season, but before the spring or the summer where things are warming up and people are starting to have fun again. It’s where companies dump there more low-key projects, more often than not.

So why release PLA, their big new experimental project, in this month? Because it was literally their only option! Gen 9 had started development years before hand and was set to be announced in February, and BDSP already took that coveted holiday spot. There was quite literally no other place for PLA to go. It was a decision made out of a lack of options.

Now to shift subjects for a hot second, Scarlet and Violet. I actually kinda like these games but I can deny that they’re glitched to hell and back. Now despite popular opinion Gamefreak actually does try and listen to their fans. They don’t always succeed, but boy do they try! They know that these games are bugged, and I think they realize that despite the fact they S/V was a financial success, they can’t really get away with releasing a game in this state again. If the whole dexit debacle was strike one, this would be strike two. I wouldn’t rule it out of the realm of possibility that they’re slowing down their development process, at least a little.

And, brief tangent, PLA was definitely a success. But imagine how much more money it might’ve made if it hadn’t been cannibalized by another Pokemon game coming out months later. How much more would S/V have made if people hadn’t already bought their one Pokemon game for the year? We gotta think about these things!

When PLA was first announced it was immediately set for early 2022. Notice how Legends Z-A is slated for 2025? Not early 2025, just 2025. Meaning it could come out at just about any time during the next year. And if it releases any time after January, Gen 10 is not releasing next year. That’s not how this studio works.

And, as I keep mentioning, Gamefreak absolutely loves releasing mainline next generation titles on anniversary years. And 2026 is their 30th anniversary! What are they gonna do, just drop some mediocre dlc for the three-decade birthday of their massive franchise? It’d be way more profitable to drop a whole new generation and make a celebration out of it. Think about the marketing potential!

Now as always I admit I could be wrong about all of this, I’m not some industry insider. But I just think it’s silly that so many people insist that they have to release two games next year, just because they did it that one time (which totally could’ve been a fluke) even though the more profitable and popular move would be to hold off Gen 10 for the anniversary.

 

[Garteam]

How long would that be in development compared to Ultimate? Let’s assume production began when Bandai revealed Studio S, that would be starting from Nov. 2023.

Ultimate began its project plan in February 2016 and released in December 2018, so there were about 32 months of development.

Assuming development starts in November 2023 and the next Smash game takes as long to cook, we're looking at a July 2026 release date.

That's probably later than Nintendo would like, but it's not so far off as to be unreasonable. It really depends if Nintendo believes they have a strong enough lineup to hold out until then.

 

[DarthEnderX]

might i suggest you double check the meaning of the word literally

Okay.

Now what?

 

[Swamp Sensei]

Is Wesker still dead or they brought him back?

That depends.

Which Wesker?

 

[Slime Scholar]

Little late to this discussion and Garteam already said what I wanted to say, but I think including Wesker or Nemesis over someone like Leon or Jill would be very much against the wishes of most RE fans. It’s hard to overstate how much of a draw the main characters are to a large chunk of people who play these games.

and I do LIKE Nemesis, but I don’t think just featuring a monster would do a better job of conveying what the series is all about to those unfamiliar with it, for many reasons, but not least of all because you don’t even play as them.

Okay.

View attachment 388960

Now what?

not interested in this argument but it is bewildering that colloquial use of this word has made the antonym of literally one of its definitions.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

They've also had annual releases (if you count DLC expansions that serve the function of a traditional third version) since 2016. If you explain away no 2015 release by noting that TPC was likely using that time to prepare for the series' 20th anniversary, you could even stretch this pattern back to 2012.

It seems that Sword and Shield's reception scared Game Freak and the TPC, which is seen in how Pokemon feels like it's been throwing way more crap at the wall in the past 5 years than usual. "Take the time to make modern entries as polished and feature-rich as Gens 1 through 5" is the most popular suggestion from fans, so I think TPC are taking that to heart and are going to give Game Freak the time necessary to make proper titles on par with the rest of Nintendo's lineup.

We’re diving into the wacky realm of speculation so bear with me for a second.

Legends Arceus came out in January 2022. Now I dunno about you, but I associate January with being the month where nothing of note happens. It’s just after the highly lucrative holiday season, but before the spring or the summer where things are warming up and people are starting to have fun again. It’s where companies dump there more low-key projects, more often than not.

So why release PLA, their big new experimental project, in this month? Because it was literally their only option! Gen 9 had started development years before hand and was set to be announced in February, and BDSP already took that coveted holiday spot. There was quite literally no other place for PLA to go. It was a decision made out of a lack of options.

Now to shift subjects for a hot second, Scarlet and Violet. I actually kinda like these games but I can deny that they’re glitched to hell and back. Now despite popular opinion Gamefreak actually does try and listen to their fans. They don’t always succeed, but boy do they try! They know that these games are bugged, and I think they realize that despite the fact they S/V was a financial success, they can’t really get away with releasing a game in this state again. If the whole dexit debacle was strike one, this would be strike two. I wouldn’t rule it out of the realm of possibility that they’re slowing down their development process, at least a little.

And, brief tangent, PLA was definitely a success. But imagine how much more money it might’ve made if it hadn’t been cannibalized by another Pokemon game coming out months later. How much more would S/V have made if people hadn’t already bought their one Pokemon game for the year? We gotta think about these things!

When PLA was first announced it was immediately set for early 2022. Notice how Legends Z-A is slated for 2025? Not early 2025, just 2025. Meaning it could come out at just about any time during the next year. And if it releases any time after January, Gen 10 is not releasing next year. That’s not how this studio works.

And, as I keep mentioning, Gamefreak absolutely loves releasing mainline next generation titles on anniversary years. And 2026 is their 30th anniversary! What are they gonna do, just drop some mediocre dlc for the three-decade birthday of their massive franchise? It’d be way more profitable to drop a whole new generation and make a celebration out of it. Think about the marketing potential!

Now as always I admit I could be wrong about all of this, I’m not some industry insider. But I just think it’s silly that so many people insist that they have to release two games next year, just because they did it that one time (which totally could’ve been a fluke) even though the more profitable and popular move would be to hold off Gen 10 for the anniversary.

I hope you both are right, and I'm not saying that Pokémon Legends: Z-A and Gen 10 releasing the same year is an inevitability, it's just that the easy possibility of it happening combined with a complete lack of faith in the companies doesn't feed my optimism much. lol

I actually kinda like these games but I can deny that they’re glitched to hell and back.

Honestly with how many times I played through Pokémon Shield, I'd probably love Pokémon Scarlet/Violet if my experience doesn't get ruined by bugs. But with how buggy the games have been shown to be, I just don't want to deal with the hassle, or support a game released in such a bad state.

Also if they go open world again I hope it's actually open world and not "you can go anywhere, but if you don't follow the progression we designed, but don't tell you about, you will ruin the experience".

 

[SPEN18]

There's also a high probability that a Fire Emblem game could be in that list, given that Engage's code suggests a new release was intentionally held back.

I'm still inclined to think that the next FE game is FE4 remake, and that said game will be on Switch only. I think it's most likely they use this remake to help fill the latter half of 2024, esp. if it's been done for a while.
Based on the time gaps between the non-remake mainline FE games, the next one of those is probably a ways out.

 

[pitchfulprocessing]

Wesker would be a fitting pick because he's an incredibly iconic villain to gaming in general, is a huge fan-favourite character with a lot of personality who's integral to the story across multiple games, and has superhuman abilities which would be natural to adapt into Smash in a way that emphasies the overwhelming oppressive atmosphere of a horror series boss. Him being a villain is a cool aspect that could be incorporated well with that last part, but it's really hardly the main reason I think Wesker would justify himself as a pick. Someone like Nemesis I would say doesn't have a fair few of those aspects that would make him as appealing.

Similarly, Leon and Jill would speak for themselves as pick for similar reasons and can emphasise the desperate survivor aspect of Resident Evil, which is just as integral to it as the enemies themselves. Part of what makes the original RE so iconic is how integrated the helpleness of the main characters is into the gameplay. Jill and Chris have limited ammunition, limited save files, can barely kill a single zombie, and have to plan ahead in every scenario by taking the right items and avoiding combat wherever possible as they descend deeper and deeper into the mansion and further from salvation. RE2 continues this very directly, and while RE4 obvs leans into the action game aspect much more heavily and defined third person shooters, and third person over the shoulder cameras in general, that aspect of limited resources and having to struggle through with the items you have against overwhelmingly superior enemies both in number and strength is still key to it, and Leon's identity as a protagonist. Leon isn't just cool because he's an 80s action hero, he's cool because he's an 80's action hero in a situation much bigger than him stuck in a nightmare scenario. Both Jill and Leon could play into that aspect of limtied resources and strategising with your available options in different ways, Jill leaning more on the survivor aspect by positioning her as a zoner who keeps away with the ammunition she has while Leon could be more of a hybrid character who has to build resources and then rush in with a specific setplay plan, and both of those would be just fine as a representation of Resi and would be interesting in their own rights.

I would say personally I think the best choices would be Jill > Leon > Wesker > Chris, but none of them would be bad.

 

[waddledeeonredyoshi]

I need Leon only for the reason his victory animation can be him saying "Tsk, where'd everybody go? Bingo?? "

 

[CannonStreak]

If Chris from Resident Evil got into the next Smash Bros. game, how much do you want to bet that his Final Smash would be punching a boulder into his opponents?

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

Both Jill and Leon could play into that aspect of limtied resources and strategising with your available options in different ways, Jill leaning more on the survivor aspect by positioning her as a zoner who keeps away with the ammunition she has while Leon could be more of a hybrid character who has to build resources and then rush in with a specific setplay plan, and both of those would be just fine as a representation of Resi and would be interesting in their own rights.

Probably a dumb idea but: Jill and Leon as Echo Fighters.

1. Jill starts with a lot of resources to power her dummy strong gun attacks, but can't gain any until getting K.O.'ed
2. Leon starts with very little resources, but can get more mid-match.

Picking between the two is like picking between Hero or Steve...if those two played even remotely similarly. I dunno if Jill and Leon could share enough of a moveset for that to work, but it sounds pretty cool.

 

[Stratos]

To me from the Resident Evil franchise, Chris, Wesker and Nemesis-T seem more likely to come as newcomers to the Super Smash Bros. series.

 

[pitchfulprocessing]

Probably a dumb idea but: Jill and Leon as Echo Fighters.

1. Jill starts with a lot of resources to power her dummy strong gun attacks, but can't gain any until getting K.O.'ed
2. Leon starts with very little resources, but can get more mid-match.

Picking between the two is like picking between Hero or Steve...if those two played even remotely similarly. I dunno if Jill and Leon could share enough of a moveset for that to work, but it sounds pretty cool.

I could see the angle for sure, and it would make sense if you used a more RE2-inspired Leon, but they have slightly different weaponry and I think most people would want a full on RE4 Leon, it's such an iconic game and Leon is such a popular protagonist for that depiction because of the more action game-y elements that I think would be remiss to not include in his normals. There's a reason he's such a popular request for MVC lol. That said, if you went with Jill, Claire from RE2 would be a pretty perfect echo fighter. She's also another popular and recurring protagonist who has the same gameplay style as Jill and the same weaponry, lacking a shotgun (or at least having it be less prominent for her in the case of Jill) but having a grenade launcher, and she would represent another side of RE's story, so I think it would fit well.

 

[Super Devon]

There’s a non zero chance that, if they hold a big press conference for this new system, they at least mention a new Smash bros. That’s how they announced Brawl, wasn’t it?

Yes, and that was also the case for Smash for 3DS and Wii U, IIRC.

EDIT: Actually, aside from Ultimate, the only other time where Smash wasn't announced alongside the lineup reveal with a console was Smash 64.
Melee was announced alongide the Gamecube Software lineup at E3 2001
Brawl was announced alongside the unveil of the Wii at E3 2005 (when it was then known as Nintendo Revolution)
Smash For was announced alongside the unveil of the Wii U at E3 2011

 

[Noipoi]

Yes, and that was also the case for Smash for 3DS and Wii U, IIRC.

New Smash discourse is rapidly approaching

 

[CannonStreak]

New Smash discourse is rapidly approaching

View attachment 388965

Yeah, and if you don't like it, you may have to just deal with it.

You don't seem ready for this Smash discourse, are you?

 

[Noipoi]

Yeah, and if you don't like it, you may have to just deal with it.

You don't seem ready for this Smash discourse, are you?

Oh I’m ready for a new Smash game. I’m ready to spend the next year or so seeing radical new fighters and modes added to the game, foolishly hoping for a juicy story mode, and championing my most wanted characters. That’s the fun stuff.

I’m not ready for more stuff like the great Box vs Grinch wars

 

[Gengar84]

I wonder when would be a good time to bring back the character support threads? I’m guessing we’re waiting until the next Smash is officially announced but I think they could be fun to bring back sooner than that. Maybe with the full reveal of the next console? Sadly, once they reveal the next Smash game, the roster will have already been decided for a while and character support won’t actually impact anyone’s chances but they’re still fun to talk about and speculate (even if my threads got no posts lol).

 

[CannonStreak]

Oh I’m ready for a new Smash game. I’m ready to spend the next year or so seeing radical new fighters and modes added to the game, foolishly hoping for a juicy story mode, and championing my most wanted characters. That’s the fun stuff.

I’m not ready for more stuff like the great Box vs Grinch wars

Funny you should say that about the Box vs. Grinch wars and the like...

Because that's exactly what I meant! Looks like I could have clarified on that, though.

 

[Noipoi]

I wonder when would be a good time to bring back the character support threads? I’m guessing we’re waiting until the next Smash is officially announced but I think they could be fun to bring back sooner than that. Maybe with the full reveal of the next console? Sadly, once they reveal the next Smash game, the roster will have already been decided for a while and character support won’t actually impact anyone’s chances but they’re still fun to talk about and speculate (even if my threads got no posts lol).

Yeah, they’re probably waiting for a game to actually be announced. Which I suppose makes sense.

They could totally open them early though, give the true believers something to talk about in the meantime.

 

[Super Devon]

Yeah, they’re probably waiting for a game to actually be announced. Which I suppose makes sense.

They could totally open them early though, give the true believers something to talk about in the meantime.

It'd be so funny if Sakurai ended his channel the literal day of/day after the next Smash gets announced

 

[Noipoi]

It'd be so funny if Sakurai ended his channel the literal day of/day after the next Smash gets announced

The video ends like a Marvel movie.

Sakurai will return

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

I’m not ready for more stuff like the great Box vs Grinch wars

Never forget.

 

[Ivander]

Nice to see confirmation on the Direct and new console news. Yeah, the Direct is in June, but at least we don't need to drive ourselves crazy on when they were going to announce something. Allows me to focus alot more time on my back catalogue.

 

[osby]

View attachment 388966


Never forget.

I wonder if the absolute Einstein of social engineering will return...

 

[Noipoi]

View attachment 388966


Never forget.

Got a lot of mileage out of this one back in the day

 

[DarthEnderX]

not interested in this argument but it is bewildering that colloquial use of this word has made the antonym of literally one of its definitions.

That's language, baby!

Remember when something being bad meant that it was good?

Wesker would be a fitting pick because he's an incredibly iconic villain to gaming in general, is a huge fan-favourite character with a lot of personality who's integral to the story across multiple games, and has superhuman abilities which would be natural to adapt into Smash in a way that emphasies the overwhelming oppressive atmosphere of a horror series boss.

Wesker would be a fitting pick for the 2nd RE character in Smash.

As for the 1st, while I'd prefer Jill, Leon is just the obvious pick. RE4 was a huge hit on the Gamecube, and he's recently starred in TWO massively successful remakes. His stock has never been higher.

Probably a dumb idea but: Jill and Leon as Echo Fighters.

I'll allow it.

New Smash discourse is rapidly approaching

New character threads are rapidly approaching!

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

I wonder if the absolute Einstein of social engineering will return...

My brain is fried from being sick and catching up on work.

Are you referring to the one who faked the Grinch Leak?

 

[Noipoi]

My brain is fried from being sick and catching up on work.

Are you referring to the one who faked the Grinch Leak?

He’s referring to this insane post that was made when we were all debating the legitimacy of the Grinch leak.

Spoiler: copypasta

.... if the grinch leak isn't real, then the guy who made it has to be the craziest person in the world going out of their way to make incredibly boring cardboard cut-out models using promotional material from the upcoming Grinch movie because he's thinking 47 steps ahead and knows that both Bandai-Namco and Universal studios contract the same obscure French marketing company. To this end, he then got himself an office, printed out the name of an employee of said company, and haphazardly half blurred out the name because, once again, he's some kind of super genius beyond the mental capacities of mortal man and he knew that the internet's crack team of cybersleuths would find his red-herring name in seconds.

This absolute Einstein of social engineering also happens to moonlight as an expert artist and after presumably spending hours carefully cutting and pasting characters from the Smash poster, he then went out of his way to produce 7 more drawings of his own with obscure elements like vines for Isaac that hardly anyone would be able to make out, and then, for the fun of it, he saw to making a completely unique drawing of the blank version of Battlefield just because he could. He made sure that this fake roster of his perfectly mirrored one posted on 4chan last month by someone whose first language clearly isn't English because he knew that people would immediately make the connection to the French marketing company that he is pretending produced this image. The fact that 5 new characters lines up with the 5 missing stages from Corocoro was all part of his master plan. He also made sure this coincided with Nintendo renewing relevant trademarks.

The lengths you have to go to believe that this is all an incredibly elaborate leak would make this man one of the most intelligent people to ever walk the Earth. This guy would be more competent than the entire government of Saudi Arabia when it comes to fakery.

I suggest you think about which outcome is likelier here.

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

He’s referring to this insane post that was made when we were all debating the legitimacy of the Grinch leak.

Spoiler: copypasta

.... if the grinch leak isn't real, then the guy who made it has to be the craziest person in the world going out of their way to make incredibly boring cardboard cut-out models using promotional material from the upcoming Grinch movie because he's thinking 47 steps ahead and knows that both Bandai-Namco and Universal studios contract the same obscure French marketing company. To this end, he then got himself an office, printed out the name of an employee of said company, and haphazardly half blurred out the name because, once again, he's some kind of super genius beyond the mental capacities of mortal man and he knew that the internet's crack team of cybersleuths would find his red-herring name in seconds.

This absolute Einstein of social engineering also happens to moonlight as an expert artist and after presumably spending hours carefully cutting and pasting characters from the Smash poster, he then went out of his way to produce 7 more drawings of his own with obscure elements like vines for Isaac that hardly anyone would be able to make out, and then, for the fun of it, he saw to making a completely unique drawing of the blank version of Battlefield just because he could. He made sure that this fake roster of his perfectly mirrored one posted on 4chan last month by someone whose first language clearly isn't English because he knew that people would immediately make the connection to the French marketing company that he is pretending produced this image. The fact that 5 new characters lines up with the 5 missing stages from Corocoro was all part of his master plan. He also made sure this coincided with Nintendo renewing relevant trademarks.

The lengths you have to go to believe that this is all an incredibly elaborate leak would make this man one of the most intelligent people to ever walk the Earth. This guy would be more competent than the entire government of Saudi Arabia when it comes to fakery.

I suggest you think about which outcome is likelier here.

Right, the infamous copy pasta.

I forgot about that Einstein line.
....though I get points for being on the right track at least with the Grinch Leak :V

 

[fogbadge]

Brawl was announced alongside the unveil of the Wii at E3 2005 (when it was then known as Nintendo Revolution)

my favourite part about that story is that they hadn't told sakurai yet and he was like"wait what?"

View attachment 388966


Never forget.

i forgot about this

 

[Garteam]

I'd be incredibly happy if there were no true leaks for the next Smash simply because they centralize the conversation around them, especially when we're late in the pre-release cycle.

Box theory vs. Grinch was boring AF. There are only so many conversations you can have about Mach Rider, Issac, Geno, and Incineroar before you want some variety. It wasn't nearly as bad as post-E3 Gematsu, though. Robin's announcement was such a breath of fresh air for putting that to bed alone.

 

[Ivander]

I'd be incredibly happy if there were no true leaks for the next Smash simply because they centralize the conversation around them, especially when we're late in the pre-release cycle.

Box theory vs. Grinch was boring AF. There are only so many conversations you can have about Mach Rider, Issac, Geno, and Incineroar before you want some variety. It wasn't nearly as bad as post-E3 Gematsu, though. Robin's announcement was such a breath of fresh air for putting that to bed alone.

It'd be nice, but some leakers just won't let others have nice things. Some leakers may hold back, but some others certainly won't pass up the attention and fame revealing a Smash Bros character does.

 

[Gengar84]

It’s kind of a shame that Delzethin and I seem to have such wildly different opinions on almost everything. His videos are entertaining and really well produced but I never really agree with his roster selections. I just watched his video for a theoretical Pokken 2 roster and he cut a lot of my favorites and added several of my least favorite Pokemon. I do agree with a lot of his Smash character moveset ideas at least. I’m afraid to even click his video about cutting Ultimate’s roster in half lol. Honestly, I think it’s just more that I have weird tastes than any kind of criticism towards his content. I’ll definitely keep watching the moveset videos.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Anyways, let’s say that both Chrom and Lucina were assist characters in Robin’s Final Smash (Chrom would assist M!Robin, and Lucina would assist F!Robin). This means they wouldn’t be the Echo Fighters of Marth and Roy, respectively.

If this was the case, who would you pick to be Marth’s Echo Fighter in Ultimate?

For me, it’d be Celica.

Lucina as an Assist Trophy is unrealistic with how popular she is. They would have made her playable anyway.

 

[HyperSomari64]

Lucina as an Assist Trophy is unrealistic with how popular she is. They would have made her playable anyway.

Hey, if Bomberman and Waluigi can be popular characters that became an Assist Trophy, why can't Lucina?
(yeah, that comparison doesn't work in this context)

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

I’m afraid to even click his video about cutting Ultimate’s roster in half lol.

Taking a quick look, it's less of a "here's what they should do" and more "how low can we go?" to the point of almost being in joke video territory. If you find a thought experiment like that interesting, you might like it.

 

[Guynamednelson]

just watched his video for a theoretical Pokken 2 roster and he cut a lot of my favorites and added several of my least favorite Pokemon.

Smeargle, Dewott and Cinccino are enough for it to be a million times better than Pokken 1's for me so

That said, the lack of playable variants of Pokemon that are already on the roster feels unrealistic. Not just because Pokken had two, but because Pokken helped Libre be the most popular of the Cosplay Pikachu.

 

[Gengar84]

Smeargle, Dewott and Cinccino are enough for it to be a million times better than Pokken 1's for me so

That said, the lack of playable variants of Pokemon that are already on the roster feels unrealistic. Not just because Pokken had two, but because Pokken helped Libre be the most popular of the Cosplay Pikachu.

Yeah, it’s all just personal preference I suppose. The quick moveset ideas are all quite good. I am a fan of Lycanroc, Meowscarada, and Absol at least.

 

[Gorgonzales]

He’s referring to this insane post that was made when we were all debating the legitimacy of the Grinch leak.

Spoiler: copypasta

.... if the grinch leak isn't real, then the guy who made it has to be the craziest person in the world going out of their way to make incredibly boring cardboard cut-out models using promotional material from the upcoming Grinch movie because he's thinking 47 steps ahead and knows that both Bandai-Namco and Universal studios contract the same obscure French marketing company. To this end, he then got himself an office, printed out the name of an employee of said company, and haphazardly half blurred out the name because, once again, he's some kind of super genius beyond the mental capacities of mortal man and he knew that the internet's crack team of cybersleuths would find his red-herring name in seconds.

This absolute Einstein of social engineering also happens to moonlight as an expert artist and after presumably spending hours carefully cutting and pasting characters from the Smash poster, he then went out of his way to produce 7 more drawings of his own with obscure elements like vines for Isaac that hardly anyone would be able to make out, and then, for the fun of it, he saw to making a completely unique drawing of the blank version of Battlefield just because he could. He made sure that this fake roster of his perfectly mirrored one posted on 4chan last month by someone whose first language clearly isn't English because he knew that people would immediately make the connection to the French marketing company that he is pretending produced this image. The fact that 5 new characters lines up with the 5 missing stages from Corocoro was all part of his master plan. He also made sure this coincided with Nintendo renewing relevant trademarks.

The lengths you have to go to believe that this is all an incredibly elaborate leak would make this man one of the most intelligent people to ever walk the Earth. This guy would be more competent than the entire government of Saudi Arabia when it comes to fakery.

I suggest you think about which outcome is likelier here.

tbf I probably would've bought what this guy was saying if the empty Battlefield art wasn't revealed to come from an E3 exhibit