Key Takeaways

Super Smash Bros. lovers will have to wait a while longer to find romance with like-minded fans. 

The dating app SmashTogether was hours from entering beta testing when it reportedly received a cease-and-desist order, ostensibly from Nintendo. 

Dating apps that cater to niche communities, like SmashTogether, have gained popularity. The Super Smash Bros. game itself brings diverse characters together and boasts a lively and loyal fandom, which made it a natural jumping off point for a dating app. 

It’s also not uncommon for singles to meet while gaming. For many, gaming is more than a hobby — it’s a passion, one that can make a strong foundation for a relationship to grow. 

But SmashTogether is a lesson to all up-and-comers hoping to develop a niche dating app: Base the app on shared passions, not on someone else’s intellectual property. 

SmashTogether Planned to Take Niche Dating Apps to New Levels 

In June 2024, SmashTogether created excitement among fans — and went viral — when it first announced the dating app. “Meet your dream Doubles partner (in and out of Smash) with our robust matchmaking algorithm, tailored to connect you with your ideal Smash Partner,” the company said on X.

The company uploaded screenshots of the unreleased dating app, which showed that users could name their notable wins, rankings, mains (or their playable characters), and locations on their profiles. 

Like Hinge, SmashTogether also planned to offer prompts that would help users share their personalities and connect, albeit with a Super Smash Bros. theme. 

Fans waited nearly one year before SmashTogether resurfaced to announce it was entering beta testing. Four hundred pre-registrations later, SmashTogether was ready — only to receive a cease-and-desist order the day before the app launched. 

SmashTogether hasn’t confirmed that the cease and desist came from Nintendo, but based on the app’s theme, it’s a safe bet. 

It wouldn’t be the first time Nintendo shut down an unofficial Smash Bros.-themed project. In 2020, fans were disappointed when Nintendo sent a cease-and-desist letter to the organizer behind highly-anticipated Big House Smash Melee and Ultimate tournaments. 

SmashTogether would’ve been an uber-niche contribution to the dating app industry. There are dating apps that cater solely to gamers in general, like Kippo and Co-Op, that appeal to a wider variety of people without leaving the niche gamer genre. 

Like Dating Apps, Gaming Makes Socialization Easier  

The idea behind SmashTogether is sound: Bring a group of like-minded gamers together, and love is bound to bloom, right? 

Gaming has become a cultural touchstone for people of all ages. It’s partly because the “third places,” such as malls and arcades, where young people once socialized are no longer popular, or don’t even exist in some cases. 

“Studies show that third places reduce loneliness and improve overall well-being,” Andrew Fishman, a licensed clinical social worker, wrote for Psychology Today. “Many young people have … turned to video games as their third place.” 

Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG) like World of Warcraft, and competition games like Super Smash Bros., give people in entirely different locations the ability to socialize over their shared passions. 

“Chatting with teammates does not require eye contact, physical proximity, reading body language, or navigating environmental distractions,” Fishman said. “Gamers can also alter their appearance in most video games, which removes a barrier for trans people or those with body-related issues or low self-esteem.”

For dedicated gamers, socializing from afar is half the appeal. Developing a dating app for these gamers that gently encourages them to leave their comfort zones could certainly be a worthwhile venture — as long as the app focuses more on intimacy and less on IP. 

SmashTogether hasn’t provided any updates on the app’s future since it received the cease and desist.