In just a month, Splatoon 3 will finally arrive. After a long period of minimal news and a delay, the game is finally ready to be shown off in full force, and it has a lot to show. The August 10 Splatoon 3 Direct blew the hinges off of fans' expectations, making up for all the lost time and strange trailers that relied heavily on edited matches. There's so much information pouring in that fans haven't even been able to digest all the new weapons, characters, mechanics, and story, as well as all the old things that have been spruced up for this fresh new title.
With all the news coming in, Splatoon 3 looks like the best entry to jump into the series. The promise of a package stuffed to the gills at launch that will tread water for at least a couple of years combine to make this game a very appealing catch. However, this news is somewhat bittersweet. Even though Splatoon 3 will be loaded with content and have a couple guaranteed years of support, its expiration window has already been declared.
What Splatoon 3 is Offering As Its Post-Launch Support
As any Splatoon fan knows, the fun doesn't stop at story mode. After repelling the latest schemes of the Octarian Army, players can take the sites of the stylishly chaotic Splatsville hub. From there, they can access online matches with Turf War or collaborative missions in Salmon Run. After the initial fun is had, players can expect new weapons, stages, and other special events to roll around every few months. In particular, Big Runs will take Salmon Run missions into Inkling and Octoling territory rather than the Salmonids’ usual stomping grounds. It's also likely that Tableturf Battle, a new card game, will also receive one or two updates across the game's life span.
It wouldn't be Splatoon without some extra flair, and that's where catalogs come in. Available at a general store on the edge of Splatsville called Hotlantis, these seasonal catalogs will rotate every three months or so. That marks a rough time frame for when players can expect new mechanical drops like weapons. These catalogs include items like new titles, backgrounds, and badges for the player's Splashtag at the beginning and end of a battle, as well as new emotes. Such cosmetics are bought with points from playing other modes, and seasonal gear and ability chunks will also be on display. Throw in the upcoming X Battle and League Battle modes, as well as Splatfests and a paid expansion, and Splatoon 3's future is looking incredibly bright.
The End of Splatoon 3 is Already Visible
All of this post-launch content has been stated to fit within a two-year window. That is on par with past Splatoon games, and the large-scale paid expansion will likely fall somewhere within that time frame. Players can also expect Splatfests, which now support a third side and new methods of engagement, to last throughout that time and possibly beyond it. However, that's because Splatfests don't need much new content to work. Two years is still a reasonable life expectancy for a live service game, and Splatoon 3 is bringing a lot of varied updates in that time frame, but it is an established one nonetheless.
While bittersweet, it's still better to know what Splatoon 3's future looks like. Nintendo has been making announcements like this frequently in the Switch generation, with games like Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe having season passes that explicitly state when all their content will be finished. This is arguably preferable to what was done with games like Kirby Star Allies and assorted Mario sports titles where free DLC was expected to continue, but it wasn't clear when it was going to wrap up or with what accomplished. Splatoon 3 aims to be an action-packed couple of years with a reasonable trail-off to make way for whatever comes next for the franchise, presumably on Nintendo's next console.
Splatoon 3 will be released on September 9, exclusively for Nintendo Switch.
