Cody Schwab is one of the stronger active Melee players, climbing to some high spots in the Melee rankings like 4th in 2022 and debatably 2nd or 3rd as of the moment. He’s constantly taking wins at events but has hit some rougher times with the other side of the game recently. After Counter Logic Gaming’s Smash team wound down, Cody Schwab has been a free agent. It now seems the player is setting some goals for moving on, which could involve Cody Schwab quitting Melee.

Cody “iBDW” Schwab / Source: Beyond the Summit

This week the Fox main took to Twitter to post an explanation of where he is right now. He talked about a need to see some progress, or he’ll have to retire from Melee. This will be one of the top active Smash Bros players stepping away because of a lack of sponsorship opportunities and support, which would be a sad sign of the times for Melee.

Deadline Given for Cody Schwab Quitting Melee

Cody Schwab has taken to Twitter to give a deadline for quitting Melee! The player has been searching for a new team or sponsor ever since the Counter Logic Shutdown. Prior to this, the player was part of Panda. He’s had a bad run with teams, but as one of the top active players he does seem like an attractive player for any Smash org.

The player posted in an image on Twitter “I would love to keep playing Melee for the foreseeable future, and will do my best to make that dream a continued reality. At some point, however, I can’t keep bashing my head into the wall and praying for a different outcome. Esports is inherently volatile, and it’s showing with the amount turnover there is in virtually every game. I haven’t been able to gain my footing, which is wild to think about, and so I’ve made the decision that if I don’t feel by Genesis that I’ve turned this into something that can propel me into whatever my next phase of life might be, I’m going to hard cut off Melee and retire.”

The conditions he gives further in the text explain that, essentially, he’s looking for a way to make Melee viable, and would love to continue playing.

Important melee decision after the dust from the past few years has settled

Will always appreciate and love you all no matter what happens <3 pic.twitter.com/dDubbSLEir

— Cody Schwab (Free Agent) (@iBDWSSBM) June 20, 2023

As one of the top-ranked players, Cody Schwab quitting melee would be a big loss. There is a problem for teams in fielding squads in games as niche as Melee right now, it is definitely hard to make the game profitable. However, the competitive Melee scene has definitely survived worse lulls in the past. It’s definitely disappointing that one of the best fighting games of all time that has such a strong dedicated community isn’t being supported by orgs though.