Nintendo confirms end of Splatoon 3 regular updates
Wiped clean.
Nintendo has now formally confirmed the end of its regular support for Splatoon 3, in a statement celebrating "two ink-credible years".
Fans had suspected such a statement from Nintendo, now posted to X, following the conclusion of the game's climactic Grand Festival event held over the past weekend.
Released in September 2022, Splatoon 3 has enjoyed a similar two-year window of post-launch content updates seen by its predecessor, Splatoon 2.
There's no word on what's next for the Splatoon franchise just yet but, of course, Nintendo is now quietly readying itself for the upcoming announcement and 2025 launch of Switch 2.
In the meantime, Splatoon 2 will see returning themes for Splatoween, Frosty Fest, Spring Fest, and Summer Nights. Nintendo will also continue to provide Big Run, Eggstra Work, and Monthly Challenges "for the time being". And some balance tweaks to weapons may still be released "as needed".
This summer, Nintendo rescinded the title of this year's Splatoon 3 World Championship winning team - a North American group named Jackpot - after racist messages by its members subsequently surfaced online.
The Splatoon 3 World Championship was initially due to be held during January's Nintendo Live 2024, but was postponed over safety fears after Nintendo received death threats from a man claiming they would "kill the people at the venue". The individual, a 27-year-old from Hitachi, Japan, was later arrested for sending 39 threats using the inquiry form on Nintendo's website.
"There are few surprises to be found in Splatoon 3's multiplayer or campaign, but it is the best Nintendo's spectacular series has been to date," Eurogamer's former editor and resident Splatoon fan Martin Robinson wrote in Eurogamer's Splatoon 3 review.