This article was originally written for TheNintendoVillage.com, a website I founded and ran from 2018 to 2021.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has been updated to version 8.1.0, and had brought with it a brand new stage amongst some other changes to the online.

The new ‘small Battlefield’ is described by series’ Director Masahiro Sakurai over on Twitter as a ‘middle option’ between the larger, regular Battlefield and Final Destination - made with 1 on 1 battles in mind.

The stage exists on its own, but it will also be an option for Players will also be able to choose any music from the game for that stage, as well as for Battlefield, Big Battlefield and Final Destination. Small Battlefield can also be selected as an option in preferred rules for online matches.

On top of that, there’s also been some adjustments to matchmaking and online play. It has been notoriously finicky in the past, so fingers crossed this new update goes some way to remedy the issues players have been experiencing.

Here’s the full patch notes:

Ver. 8.1.0 (Released August 4, 2020)

Stage
- The Small Battlefield stage has been added. You can also set Small Battlefield as a Preferred Rule in Online battles.
- You can now select any stage-specific music for the Battlefield, Small Battlefield, Big Battlefield, and Final Destination stages.
Online
- The online user experience has been adjusted.
- The way matching is determined when using Preferred Rules has been adjusted.
- Following a look at the current number of players eligible for Elite Smash, the threshold for entry has been recalculated to allow more players. Additionally, the way initial values for Global Smash Power are calculated has also been adjusted.
- Further investigations and adjustments to Online mode are expected.
General
- Several issues have been fixed to improve gameplay experience.

Source: Nintendo, Twitter