Splatoon 3 to Release on Nintendo Switch This September: Here are the Details

Splatoon fans: the long wait is over - Splatoon 3 is coming to the Switch!

A recent report from Polygon confirmed that the next entry of the Splatoon series, Splatoon 3, will be released on September 9, per the game's release date announcement trailer from Nintendo.

The game was previously given a loose release date in February 2021, but there were rumors going around that the game was getting delayed, per Screen Rant.

Splatoon 3 Details

Splatoon 3 is a four-on-four shooter just like the past two games in the series, where the goal is to paint the whole map in your team's color (or at least most of it). The game is set in the city of Splatsville located within the barren wastelands of the Splatlands, instead of the usual skate parks and malls. It is expected to introduce a much more in-depth single-player campaign, an improved co-op experience, and new weapons and stages, per The Verge.

These new weapons, which were featured in the game's release date announcement trailer, include the Zipcaster special weapon that fires a grappling hook to let players close in on enemies using short-range weapons easier. The game also has a new bow and arrow weapon that fires ink and a mech that has a high rate of fire, per Engadget.

Splatoon 3 also features a new type of Spawn Point where players are launched to the field in their squid or octopus form rather than appearing in their humanoid form.

The game's single-player campaign will let players "join Agent 3 in a fight against the unruly Octarians and discover the secrets of Alterna and the Fuzzy Ooze," per Nintendo's synopsis. The story mode is also said to feature how the Fuzzy Ooze and Alterna's secrets connect to its theme, "Return of the Mammalians."

Splatoon 3 will also have Splatoon 2's Salmon Run game mode, which is the game's version of cooperative Horde mode. Just like in the previous game, players can play this game mode locally and online.

The game was originally meant to be released in Summer 2022 but was slightly delayed to the current release date for unknown reasons. Despite the game releasing in Fall, the game is still worth waiting for.

Splatoon 3, once released, will retail for $60.

Splatoon 3's Effect On Other Nintendo Games

The game's new release date may be the cause why Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was delayed to September instead of July as previously planned. According to Screen Rant's report, the new release date suggests that Splatoon 3 was not as close to completion as Xenoblade Chronicles 3, which made Nintendo decide to release the former in September.

These changes are expected to give time to build excitement for each game without having their release dates so close to each other.

Meanwhile, Nintendo delayed the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to 2023 to give its development team more time to work on it and ensure that players experience "something special," per a separate report from The Verge.