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Splatoon 3 release date confirmed

The competitive splat-em-up is coming later this year

Jasper Pickering

Tuesday 10 May 2022 09:10 BST

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After teasing its release last year, Splatoon 3 is finally scheduled to come out in September 2022. (iStock/The Independent)

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A release date for Splatoon 3 has been set by Nintendo and it looks like the game will be arriving in just a few months.

In Splatoon 3, players will compete in teams in a family-friendly third-person shooter with a number of different game modes, including “Turf War mode”, which sees players compete in a 4 vs 4 arena match to cover the most ground with their coloured ink.

New footage provides insight on one of those new stages known as “Eeltail Alley” along with a look at a new bow-shaped weapon called the “stringer” that enables players to shoot ink sideways and vertically.

In addition to multiplayer matches, Splatoon 3 will also feature a fresh single-player campaign and the next iteration of the co-op “Salmon Run mode”.

In the single-player story mode, players will join Agent 3 in a fight against the unruly Octarians and discover the secrets of Alterna and the Fuzzy Ooze.

If you want to watch the full reveal trailer and find out exactly when Splatoon 3 will be arriving on the Nintendo Switch, then keep reading below.

‘Splatoon 3’ release date

Spaltoon 3 release date reveal

Splatoon 3 has been confirmed to be released on Friday 9 September for the Nintendo Switch, including the OLED and lite models.

A new trailer released by Nintendo shows one of the new playable maps in action, with two teams of four competiting to coat the arena in their respective colours.

How to get ‘Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion’ content for free

As part of the announcement, Nintendo have confirmed that active Nintendo Switch Online and expansion pack subscribers who own a copy of Splatoon 2 can play the “Octo Expansion” downloadable content on Nintendo Switch at no additional cost.

To play the expansion, players can download it for no extra charge from its product information page on Nintendo eShop (£17.99, Nintendo.co.uk) if they have an active membership.

In the Octo expansion, players take on the role of Agent 8, an Octoling who awakens without their memories on a dark subway platform. Agent 8 navigates through a mysterious underground test facility in this adventure that spans 80 missions filled with different challenges. Anyone who escapes from these twisted depths will be able to join multiplayer matches as their very own Octoling.