Today Nintendo debuted nearly 30 minutes of footage from Splatoon 3, focused on showing off new modes, returning characters, and the game’s long-term future. First shown off last February, Splatoon 3 is a third-person shooter set in Splatsville, a colorful oasis in the middle of a wasteland that hosts a variety of ink-based battles.
A large part of today’s video focused on new modes that will be present in addition to the story mode, “Return of the Mammalians.” There will be the usual Turf War, the main game mode that allows players to join a casual match, which now includes a physical lobby for players to warm up in. A new Ranked mode, Anarchy Battles, features rotating competitions with a “win five, lose three” criteria. Salmon Run, a returning mode, is a multiplayer horde mode where Inklings face a massive group of monstrous fish in order to harvest their eggs. The video also shows a Splatoon card game. Table Turf Battles is a one-on-one deckbuilder that holds battles through collectible cards that are earned throughout the main game.
Character customization is possible through “fits,” gear combinations that you can save and reuse at will. Customizable emotes and your own locker that can be filled with gear and stickers are also available to decorate. Splatoon 3 will also include free cosmetic updates every three months for two years after release.
Nintendo ended by announcing the first Global Splatfest, a public voting battle that will be held in a pre-release version of the game from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on August 27. Splatoon 3 will launch on September 9, with paid DLC teased, but not yet confirmed. From cosmetic updates to new modes teased like X and League Battles, Nintendo seems ready to support the game for a long time to come. You can watch today’s Nintendo Direct video in its entirety below.