Splatoon 3's Nintendo Direct, which took place on August 10, gave Splatoon fans a lot of information on the game, including some big news that this may be the franchise's last game. Splatoon was initially released in 2015 for the Nintendo Wii U. It is a third-person shooter game with both a story mode and an extremely popular online-play environment, and Splatoon 2 released to even greater success on the Nintendo Switch in 2017.
Splatoon 3 was initially announced in February 2021 during the Nintendo Direct. It is set to launch on September 9, 2022, exclusively for the Switch. It will include new weapons, stages, and music, new enemies in Salmon Run, and a new single-player story. Along with this, there will also be more character customization available, a Splatoon card game, and a new Splatfest from Splatoon 2.
During the Nintendo Direct, it was hinted at that Splatoon 3 will be the last game in the Splatoon franchise. During the presentation on the story mode of Splatoon 3, "Return of the Mammilians," the voiceover states, "What awaits the Inklings and Octolings in the end? We hope you can witness the epic finale of this splat-tastic saga." This heavily implies that the story of Splatoon will be seeing its end with Splatoon 3, though whether it means the end of the series or just this current story arc is still unknown.
Splatoon 3 Will Give Players The Series Finale
Story mode in Splatoon 3 will reunite the Inklings and Octolings yet again while players discover the secrets of the new Alterna and the Fuzzy Ooze. Players will the Squidbeak Splatoon as the new Agent 3 after Captain Cuttlefish's retirement. Splatoon 3's "Return of the Mammalians" appears to have the same setup as the previous story modes with different levels and different objectives.
Ending the Splatoon series with the third game would be a smart move from Nintendo. Instead of dragging out a franchise and having fans lose interest, Nintendo would end on a high note with Splatoon 3. Even after players finish the story mode, there will still be endless content via the online play. There was also an announcement of a DLC coming sometime after the game's release and special in-game merchandise available every three months for two years after release.
While Splatoon 3 may end up being the last game in the Splatoon series, Nintendo will still be delivering content to players for at least two years post-release. Ending the franchise on a high note and giving players incentive to keep playing even after completing the story is a smart strategy. Splatoon 3 will has many confirmed weapons, stages, and collectibles for players to work to collect, and with online play, players will never run out of things to do in the latest game in the series.
Source: Nintendo/YouTube