Splatoon 3 might have just been the biggest game announcement in the latest Nintendo Direct. Ever since the launch of its first title on the Wii U in 2015, Splatoon has become one of the company's staple titles. The second game on the Nintendo Switch just fell short of reaching the series' potential for esports. The third time might be the charm for this series.

SPLATOON 3 RELEASE DATE: TBD 2022

Splatoon 3 is coming to the Nintendo Switch at an unspecified date this 2022. That's still a long way ahead, but what's another year? We've been waiting for a new Splatoon game since the second title launched in 2017. It's been 5 years, so another year shouldn't be that big of a problem.

STORY AND GAME MODES

The Splatoon 3 reveal trailer went longer compared to other trailers shown at the Nintendo Direct. Still, we don't know a lot about the game's story and game modes. We're sure to get more details as we go along through 2021, but right now we can only infer information from the trailer.

Basing on the trailer, though, we do get to see an entirely different setting. Step out of Inkopolis and head to a place where the scorching sun is unrelenting, the Splatlands. It's an interesting change, but we're not sure if the heat has any effect on the gameplay. Given that we play as humanoid squids and octopi in Splatoon, being under the sun all the time should be a big deal.

The trailer also revealed a new hub, which is called Splatsville. It looks much larger than Inkopolis, but also looks a lot more imposing with a drab look.

As for game modes, the trailer showed us a typical 4v4 match in progress, which is pretty much par for the course for the series. We haven't seen anything new yet here, so perhaps Nintendo is just sticking to a tried and tested formula. Still, there is still a lot of time before its release, and Nintendo may yet still give us more details, including game modes, in the future.

As for a story mode, it does seem like there's going to be one. The intro for the trailer had a cinematic feel, with a character creator and a salmonid creator (we don't know what this is for yet, could it be a pet?) Salmonid used to be the enemy in Splatoon 2, so seeing one side by side with a Squid Kid is an interesting detail.

WEAPONS AND MECHANICS IN SPLATOON 3

Here, we once again can only infer so much from the trailer. We saw the usual suspects in the trailer, including the rollers, splatlings, chargers, and sloshers. But one new weapon we saw in the trailer was the one used by the main character herself: a bow-like weapon we haven't seen in any of the Splatoon games before.

While many of the other weapons missed the trailer, we can expect all of the weapons to make a comeback in Splatoon 3. That's what happened between the first and the second game, anyway. But there's still room for new weapons, which is exactly what Nintendo promised they'll give us soon. Throughout the year, expect new weapons and maps revealed by the maps every now and then.

For now, this is everything we know about Splatoon 3. We will wait for more details and updates with you guys, and we'll be sure to put new information here as they come. Check this page regularly for the latest Splatoon 3 news and info.