Splatoon 3 Direct

The Splatoon 3 Direct was held earlier this morning and finally unveiled some new info on the game. This covered everything from stages to new weapons and everything in between. First things first, there will be a Splatfest demo on August 27th to showcase the new Tricolor Turf War. Like the name implies, three teams will battle it out instead of the usual two. The theme is Rock, Paper, Scissors. The demo will be available to download starting August 18th.

Salmon Run is returning, but it has been improved so that it can be played whenever you want. A nice improvement over the Splatoon 2's version where it was only open for certain times.

Twelve multiplayer stages will be available at launch, and they will be a mix of new and old. New stages include Eeltail Alley, Scorch Gorge, Mincemeat Metalworks, and Undertow Spillway. Returning stages include Museum d'Alfonsino, Hammerhead Bridge, and Mahi-Mahi Resort. That won't be all the stages, however, as more will be added in free updates after the game launches.

Tableturf Battle is a brand-new mode which is a one-on-one card game. The idea is the same as the main game where you have to use your cards (with special ink shapes) to ink more of the stage than your opponent. There will be 150 cards to collect.

New weapons and special weapons are incoming as well. Regular weapons include the Tri-Stinger bow and Splatana Wiper. Tacticooler, Wave Breaker, and Reefslider are some of the new special weapons.

There's also a bunch of post-launch updates coming as well. Every three months for two years the in-game catalog will be updated with new items to purchase for your Splashtag. New weapons will also be launching around those times as well. X Battle and League Battle will also see updates after the game's launch. And if that's not enough, there is a massive paid DLC coming in the future although there is no info on that yet.

To wrap it up, there will also be new amiibos coming out. A yellow Inkling, a Blue Octoling, and Smallfry. The two packs for Callie & Marie and Pearl & Marina will be relaunching soon too. You can see a full breakdown of the video over at the official Splatoon page here.