Nintendo announced today via social media that Splatoon 3 will come to the Nintendo Switch this September, giving the long-awaited sequel a release date at last. The announcement came alongside footage of a full match of Turf War, a game mode where two teams go head-to-head to try and cover as much of the map in their team’s paint color.
The footage showed off several of the new abilities and guns in Splatoon 3, including new charge attacks and a new weapon called the stringer. This bow-like device fires ink in either horizontal or vertical lines, depending on whether the player is on the ground or in the air. The video also showed off some of the new customization options players will have access to in the game, including style options for their Inkling, banner, and intro animation.
Alongside this news, Nintendo has also made the Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion DLC available as part of the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription. This expansion, which was first released in 2018, added a brand new story that follows an Octoling named Agent 8 as they try to stop a new, existential threat from destroying all of Inkopolis.
Splatoon 3’s release date announcement comes shortly after the reveal the another, upcoming Nintendo game, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, which had its release date moved up to July 29th after originally being scheduled for a September launch. The proximity of these stories is fueling speculation that Monolith Soft’s title was moved up to prevent both games from launching in the same time frame.
Splatoon 3 will launch on September 9th, 2022, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
