Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 2.0.0 update: How to get Piranha Plant

Nintendo surprised us all last night by sending Piranha Plant, the first DLC fighter for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, live alongside a rather hefty software update for the game. Everyone who has purchased a copy of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate so far is eligible to receive Piranha Plant for free, though this promotion is wrapping up tomorrow, January 31. If you haven't taken the steps necessary to redeem your Piranha Plant code yet, you'll definitely want to do that soon as time is running out.

There are two different ways to receive a code for Piranha Plant, and which you'll use depends on if you have a physical or digital copy of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. In both cases, you'll start by registering the game to My Nintendo – something that's done automatically when you buy a digital copy of the game.

For physical copies, you need to insert the game card into your Switch and then press the "+" or "-" button while you've got the game highlighted on the home menu. From there, go to "My Nintendo Rewards Program" and select "Earn Points." You'll then be prompted to select the Nintendo Account that will receive the Gold Points, and once you do, your game will be registered to My Nintendo.

After you've registered your game, you'll receive an email from Nintendo with a code for Piranha Plant. This email can be a bit tricky to find, as it arrives with an unassuming subject line that says "Thanks for your purchase of the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate game." For me, it was hiding in Gmail's promotion folder, so if you don't see it in your main inbox, check there.

When you have your code, head to the Nintendo eShop, select "Redeem Code" from the sidebar menu and enter it. Piranha Plant will then be added to your game and you can start owning opponents with one of Mario's most iconic enemies.

Piranha Plant launched alongside Ultimate software version 2.0.0, which makes some significant changes to the game. This time around, Nintendo actually gave us detailed patch notes, which is a rarity for the big N (we're not complaining though). The full patch notes, which you can read over on Nintendo's support site, explain that Spirit Board can now be played with up to four players and also details some of the new spirits that have been added to the game.

Nintendo also says that it has adjusted how Global Smash Power is calculated, but doesn't go into any further depth. Pressing both jump buttons at the same time will now result in a short hop too, which is a handy little shortcut for those who were struggling to short hop before. There's also a long list of changes to various fighters, which can be read in a separate help article.

At the end of it all, it's clear that the version 2.0.0 update for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a big one, if for no other reason than a ton of fighters have been tweaked. It'll be interesting to see if the meta shifts in any meaningful way after this patch, along with where Piranha Plant winds up on pro players' tier lists. Is Piranha Plant your new main? Head down to the comments section and let us know what you think of the new fighter!