Splatoon 3 is coming to Nintendo Switch.
As the final game announced during Nintendo’s Nintendo Direct presentation on Wednesday, there wasn’t much shown beyond a trailer featuring an early character creation scene and some melancholic shots of ruined cityscapes — which hint at some possible single-player gameplay in addition to the chaotic ink-filled free-for-alls the game’s multiplayer matches are known for.
The teaser is light on specifics but big on possibility, hinting at the wider, post-apocalyptic world inhabited by the squid-kid Inklings, which is a surprisingly grim setting for the otherwise friendly and chaotic shooter. A Twitter thread from Nintendo shares a few more minor details: The new game will be set in Splatsville, the “city of chaos” situated in the middle of the Splatlands — hence the new wasteland aesthetic.
The first Splatoon was a Wii U exclusive that launched in 2015, garnering a small but passionate fanbase interested in Nintendo’s take on a multiplayer shooter. Splatoon 2 introduced the young franchise to even more fans when it launched on Nintendo Switch in July 2017, fleshing out its unusual world full of hip squid pop stars and hypebeasts. As one of the newer — and weirder — Nintendo franchises, there’s no telling where this new game will go, but it odds are it’ll be a little bit strange and a whole lot of fun.
Splatoon 3 is coming in 2022.