Splatoon

This article is about the video game series. For the first game in the series, see Splatoon (video game). For the manga about the video game series, see Splatoon (manga).

Splatoon
Genre(s)Third-person shooter
Developer(s)Nintendo
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Creator(s)Hisashi Nogami
Shintaro Sato
Composer(s)
Platform(s)
First releaseSplatoon
28 May 2015
Latest releaseSplatoon 3: Side Order
22 February 2024

Splatoon[a][b] is a third-person shooter video game franchise created by Hisashi Nogami and Shintaro Sato, and developed and owned by Nintendo. Set in the far future on a post-apocalyptic Earth inhabited by anthropomorphic marine animals, the series centers around terrestrial cephalopods known as Inklings and Octolings – based on squids and octopuses respectively – which can transform between humanoid and cephalopod forms at will. They frequently engage in turf war battles with each other and use a variety of weapons that produce and shoot colored ink while in humanoid form, or swim through and hide in solid surfaces covered in their own colored ink while in their cephalopodic forms.

The first game in the series, Splatoon, was released for the Wii U on 28 May 2015.[1] A sequel, Splatoon 2, was released for the Nintendo Switch on 21 July 2017,[2] followed by an expansion pack, Octo Expansion, on 13 June 2018.[3] A third game, Splatoon 3, was released on 9 September 2022, followed by an expansion pack/DLC, Side Order, on 22 February 2024. The series has received positive reviews for its style, gameplay mechanics and soundtrack, with the first two games in the series having been nominated and awarded several year-end accolades from various gaming publications. The series has sold over 28 million copies.

Splatoon has spawned numerous collaborations with third-party companies and established its own esports tournament circuit in 2018.[4][5] It has spawned a manga series[6] as well as holographic music concerts in Japan.[7]


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  1. ^ Otero, Jose (2 April 2015). "Here's All the News From April's Nintendo Direct". IGN. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  2. ^ Webster, Andrew (12 April 2017). "Splatoon 2 is coming to Nintendo Switch on July 21st". The Verge. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  3. ^ McWhertor, Michael (12 June 2018). "Splatoon 2's Octo Expansion DLC gets a surprise release tomorrow". Polygon. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  4. ^ "Competitive Splatoon Is Ready for Nintendo Switch". Red Bull. Archived from the original on 13 January 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  5. ^ "Get ready for the 2018 Splatoon 2 World Championship - News & Video - Splatoon 2 for Nintendo Switch". Get ready for the 2018 Splatoon 2 World Championship - News & Video - Splatoon 2 for Nintendo Switch. Archived from the original on 1 April 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Viz Media Licenses Splatoon Manga". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 16 March 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  7. ^ Webster, Andrew (23 January 2020). "This hour-long Splatoon concert features holographic squid kids". The Verge. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2020.