Splatfest

"Pick a side and battle it out in these special Turf War events. Find out about the latest Splatfests in Inkopolis Plaza, and be sure to pledge allegiance to your favorite side in the week leading up! Then help your side win by competing in Turf War battles!"

- Splatoon's official website

Splatfest, known as Festival or Fes in Japan, is a special event in Splatoon and Splatoon 2 in which players choose between two teams, such as Cats or Dogs, and compete in Turf Wars for Super Sea Snails.

Splatoon


In Splatoon, Splatfests were recurring events hosted by the Squid Sisters, Callie and Marie. During this event, Inklings were able to choose between two teams and participate in battles against each other. Inklings were limited to two colors during the Splatfest, reflecting which side they were on. The clothing section of the equip screen also became locked and all players were forced to wear the Splatfest Tee, which changed in color and design based on an Inkling's chosen team, although they could still change hats, shoes, and weapons. Inkopolis Plaza and all the stages were decorated with a flood of Miiverse posts from the Splatfest/Festival tag on the Splatoon community, some of which took the form of neon signs, banners, and even fireworks. Nighttime also descended over Inkopolis and all Turf War stages. Fireworks went off periodically in the Plaza, and specks of light resembling fireflies or fire embers could be seen rising into the sky. Both Callie and Marie danced throughout the entire duration of this event, singing and dancing to City of Color.

For the most part, each Splatfest lasted 24 hours, during which time the region involved was isolated and Splatfest players would only face off against players from their own region. Meanwhile, all other regions continued to play amongst each other. A few choice Splatfests deviated from these rules. Super Sea Snails were awarded to participating players upon Splatfest's conclusion.

Splatoon 2
Splatfests returned in Splatoon 2, now hosted by Off the Hook's members, Pearl and Marina. Besides this, the structure was largely the same. Although Miiverse is not compatible with the Nintendo Switch, Splatoon 2's exclusive drawing feature allows for players to submit doodles that appear in-game as neon signs, banners, fireworks, or graffiti, as well as upload doodles to social media accounts. Inkopolis Square is decorated similarly to Inkopolis Plaza in the first game and all areas once again become locked in nighttime as Pearl and Marina perform Color Pulse in Inkopolis Square.

In a similar vein to Callie vs. Marie, Chaos vs. Order (also known as Final Fest: Splatocalypse) was heavily promoted as Splatoon 2's final Splatfest, featuring many special and unique characteristics, and would influence events of the sequel. Despite that, 2020 would see four additional Splatfests hosted after a year of inactivity, during the COVID-19 pandemic, giving players further entertainment during lockdown. The first three additional Splatfests were rematches of previous Splatfests, with largely unchanged dialogue. Dialogue from the fourth (and only original) additional Splatfest, Super Mushroom vs. Super Star, did briefly mention how the Splatocalypse was meant to be the final Splatfest with no mention of the previous three rematches, suggesting they were non-canonical.



Preparation
Before a Splatfest begins, Inkopolis Plaza and Inkopolis Square experience a variety of visual upgrades to prepare for the event. One week before a Splatfest in Splatoon, a voting booth appeared next to the Miiverse mailbox and the event's theme was announced by Callie and Marie during their Inkopolis News segment. Pearl and Marina similarly announce the event's theme a week prior during their Off the Hook segment in Splatoon 2, while the voting booth appears in the Square.

Players receive a themed Splatfest Tee, a piece of gear that is wearable only until the Splatfest ends when they join a team. Two days before a Splatfest in, neon signs adorned with up and down pointing arrows appeared on walls and buildings, and the day before it took place, the Plaza became noticeably more crowded and two large trucks supporting stage scaffolding appeared in the area's center. In, one day before the Splatfest, a large performance stage appears in the Square, above the entrance to the battle lobby. On the tower behind the stage is a screen displaying the two battling teams' mascots. There are also large black lattice boards, which, later on, become the area where posts are featured in the form of neon signs.

During a Splatfest, Regular and Ranked Battle options are not available, as they are temporarily replaced by the Splatfest Battle option; however, Private Battles and Salmon Run can still be accessed.

Modes
In Splatoon 2, there are two ways to enter Splatfest Battles as of Version : Normal and Pro. Normal mode lets the player either start solo or battle with two to four friends by joining together in a private lobby before choosing to find other random players. Players from the same team can continue being matched up together in the same lobby if they choose to continue after the end of a match. Pro mode works identically to how Solo mode worked prior to this version; the player cannot team up with friends and is automatically matched with three other players. Players from the same team are not matched up in the same lobby after a match.

Before Version, there were two other options for Splatfest Battles: Solo and Team. Solo mode worked like Splatfests in Splatoon; the player was automatically matched with three other players and battled against groups of four random players from the opposing team. However, as opposed to the original game, players from the same team were not automatically matched up in the same lobby after a match. Team mode required four players (that must be friends with someone from the same team who is in the lobby) to join a private lobby before being matched up against another team of four.

Splatfest Power


Splatfest Power was a feature introduced in Version of Splatoon as a way of tracking players' skill during Splatfests, replacing the Vibe meter. While Splatfest matchmaking was previously based on play styles, players were then matched based on similar Splatfest Power levels. It was initially determined by one's Rank and may rise or fall depending on how well one did in battles.

After each Splatfest Battle, players on the winning team got roughly ten points toward their Splatfest Power and the losing team lost roughly ten, depending on the difference between the two teams' Splatfest power level, while the player on the winning team with the highest Splatfest Power gained an additional one to two points.

The top 100 players with the highest Splatfest Power were shown on SplatNet and on the social network sites of Splatoon.

Splatfest Power returned in Splatoon 2, where the player's initial Splatfest Power is based on their performance in their first seven matches. The top 100 players are displayed in SplatNet 2 and can be viewed under each Splatfest event. As of Version, to adjust fairness in matchmaking and to prevent improper behavior, the names and levels of all players in a match are not shown on the lobby waiting screen and are replaced with question marks if the player's Splatfest Power is above 2,200. Due to this, players are able to battle against people blocked in their Nintendo Switch system settings as long as their power is also this high.

Clout
Clout is a mechanic introduced in version of  that is used to determine the winner in Splatfests as opposed to strictly using the win rate. Clout is counted separately for two of the available Splatfest Battle modes, Normal and Pro. Battling against the same Splatfest team does not contribute to the Clout score.

In Normal mode, players can multiply their Clout by a factor of up to ×2.0 based on the Synergy Bonus they get if they win the match. Synergy Bonuses are earned by having matching gear, weapons, and appearance, which are also tied into the team names players get during Splatfests. An example of the highest possible Synergy bonus would be if all four players were Inkling boys with the ponytail hairstyle and dressed in the, and. The nickname will be "The Ponytail Soccerband Blue Sea Slug Bronze Aero gang."

The multiplier begins at ×1.0, where each matching element adds to the factor. For example, if a team has all matching hairstyles and all matching shoes, they will get a Synergy Bonus of ×1.0 + ×0.1 + ×0.3 = ×1.4.

10× and 100× Battles
Both Normal and Pro modes occasionally feature 10× and 100× battles, where the Clout score is multiplied by a factor of ten or 100 if the team won. The 100× battles occurred every ten minutes at their introduction, but around June 2019 were changed to occur every five minutes, while 10× battles occur more frequently. The 100× battle rate was later increased again in celebration of Final Fest, where approximately ten 100× battles can happen in a minute. This increased rate was still in place for the special encore Splatfests that were held afterward and the Super Mushroom vs. Super Star splatfest. The Synergy Bonus is rounded to the nearest integer before the 10× or 100× bonus is applied. Losing a 10× or 100× battle adds no bonus to Clout.

The winners of both types of battles get featured in a newsflash that is displayed as text in the lobby, as text on the SplatNet 2 app, and as an image on the Splatfest booth in the Square. Images of 100× winners are also displayed on SplatNet2. Newsflashes of players that win a 100× battle are displayed for all players of their Splatfest, while newsflashes of players that win a 10× battle are displayed for themselves and their friends who are playing during the same Splatfest. If a player won a 100× battle, the newsflash of their victory would display on their session for around half an hour before displaying winners of other battles. The news images of the winners from these battles showed the players striking different poses, where the winners from a 100× battle would be holding a large check.

Splatfest team names
Version introduced special team names for individual teams of four (not to be confused with the overall Splatfest team) which were assigned if the whole team has matching gear, weapons, or appearance.

Splatfest team names are separated into five main categories, each of which has one slot in the final team name, meaning there can only be up to five name parts in a team name. Under these categories are a number of sub-series that determine what the displayed name unit should be if there are more matching properties within a category.

For example, if everyone on the team has matching hairstyles, species, and gender, the game will only choose the hairstyle for the team's name. If a team only has matching species and gender, the game will choose species for the team's name.

The Synergy Bonus and Splatfest team names are closely related as they are both determined by the same factors, but not everything that warrants a Synergy Bonus has an equivalent team name. Some bonuses are earned by just having two or three teammates with matching properties, while Splatfest team names are only earned if all teammates match.

Reward Tiers
Super Sea Snails are awarded to participants based on the size of their team, matches won, and ground covered, which dictate each player's Splatfest Title.

Splatoon
Splatfest EXP was earned by participating in and winning matches. Winning a match earned the player a point based on the Splatfest Power, and their participation bonus was based on how much BP worth of ground they covered in ink during the match. If they covered 200–399 BP worth of ground, they earned one bonus participation EXP; if they cover 400+ BP worth of ground, they earned two bonus participation EXP. The player on the winning team with the highest Splatfest Power gained an additional two EXP. The player could earn a maximum of eleven EXP per match if their team won, they had the highest Splatfest Power among their team, and they covered at least 400 BP worth of ground during the match.

One hour after Splatfest concluded, the results were announced during an Inkopolis News broadcast. The results were based on team popularity (the percentage of the vote each team received) and wins (the percentage of matches each team won). Win percentage was worth six times more than the value of popularity. Players were awarded Super Sea Snails based on the Splatfest Title they have earned. Players on the winning team earn more Super Sea Snails than those on the losing team.

To collect their prize, players had to log into Splatoon before the next Splatfest theme is announced. The new Splatfest announcement overrides the announcement of the winners of the previous Splatfest, and no Super Sea Snails will be bestowed.

Splatoon 2
Before Version, the experience meter was the same as in. The experience meter, inking bonuses, and win bonuses were increased by a factor of ten to allow whole number values for the new Synergy Bonuses.

The win bonus for the Splatfest title EXP points was based on what the opponents' Splatfest Power is.

Splatoon
The final score was calculated based both on popularity and on wins. The formula in Splatoon was as follows:

When the Squid Sisters announced the results, the highest of the popularity and win percentages were both individually highlighted before the final results were shown.

The formula used to use, but this was changed in Version.

The formula was at first, but this was changed in Version.

Splatoon 2
In Splatoon 2, the final score is a tally of how many categories each team had a majority percentage in. There are three categories:
 * Popularity
 * Normal Mode Clout
 * Pro Mode Clout

Popularity is a straight percentage of how many joined each Splatfest team, while Clout is calculated as the average of each player's total Clout.

When Off the Hook announces the results, the highest of each category were all individually highlighted before the final results were shown, just as in the previous game.

Before Version, the latter two categories were Solo Wins and Team Wins.

Upcoming or ongoing Splatfests
No upcoming Splatfest events announced.

Past Splatfests
The following tables list all Splatfests in every region. Bold text signifies a Splatfest victory.

Delays
While the first Splatfest event in Japan (Rice vs. Bread) went by flawlessly, the first North American Splatfest (Cats vs. Dogs) was delayed. The reason given was because of matchmaking issues with Japanese players. The original schedule for the event was from 2015-06-20 at July 27, 2024 for 24 hours. Some days later, it was revealed that it would be moved to 2015-07-04 at July 27, 2024.

The first European Splatfest event (Rock vs. Pop), which was meant to start on 2015-06-27 at July 27, 2024, was equally postponed for one week so that it would take place on the same day as the North American one.

Later, the first Splatfest event held simultaneously worldwide (Pokémon Red vs. Pokémon Blue/Green) was supposed to have its results announced at the same time across all regions, despite the different start and ending times. Initially, the results were going to be announced on 2016-02-21 at July 27, 2024. However, despite notification of Callie and Marie's announcement, servers ended up being under maintenance half an hour before this, preventing the results from being received. Eventually, an hour later than intended, the servers were running again and players were able to view the results.

Trivia

 * Some randomly selected players are able to join as early as five minutes before the official start time for faster matchmaking.
 * If the game takes too long to find an enemy team for Splatfest, members of the same team will battle each other with regular colors. Players will still earn Splatfest points for these, but no Clout will be awarded. Prior to Version, the win was not counted when tallying up the results. The reason for this is likely to prevent the more popular team from having the decided advantage, as the more popular team will be more likely to have to battle each other.
 * In Splatoon, when Judd danced on his box, the pillow he slept on disappeared. It reappeared after the Splatfest when Judd went back to sleep. In Splatoon 2, he and Li'l Judd are moved to a different location while a Splatfest is going.
 * Many characters in both games will bob their head or start dancing while a Splatfest occurs, including Cap'n Cuttlefish and Spyke in Splatoon, and Marie and Murch in Splatoon 2.
 * During the preparation for a Splatfest, the voting booth does not appear when the player is not connected to the internet.
 * The Fox and Tanuki statues in Inkopolis Plaza each represent opposite sides during a Splatfest. The Fox's bib and Tanuki's shirt changed color to match their team. The Fox and Tanuki represent Callie and Marie respectively.
 * Similarly, in Splatoon 2, the Tortoise and Origami Crane on top of Headspace and The Shoal in Inkopolis Square change colors during Splatfests, with the Tortoise's color changing and the Crane's pattern changing color to match Pearl and Marina respectively.
 * The end pose of the dance Callie and Marie did during a Splatfest represented the two teams fighting each other.
 * According to Marina, Splatfest rules state that the option that won a Splatfest is legally better than the one that lost. This even holds true if Splatfest results contradict scientific consensus, as evidenced by Pearl's comments at the conclusion of the Chicken vs. Egg Splatfest.
 * In the same dialogue, Pearl refers to this rule as article 3, section 2 of Splatfest law.
 * Marina suggested during the opening banter for Squid vs. Octopus that such a Splatfest could be "dangerous" due to Splatfest law. However, in the post-banter, no mention was made of any repercussions.
 * In Japan, Team Hello Kitty and Team My Melody were the first two consecutive wins for Pearl, while Marina's first two European consecutive victories occurred in their respective Splatfest tournament of Team Donnie twice in a row.
 * In Splatoon 2, Li'l Judd tallied the results of Splatfests. A news bulletin in the top left corner of the Inkopolis News Splatfest results segment stated "Splatfest results announced, Li'l Judd Exhausted".
 * After Splatfest concludes, the player will default to wearing the in both Splatoon and Splatoon 2 if they are an Inkling, or the  if they are an Octoling.
 * During the Squid vs. Octopus Splatfest, players on Team Squid were Inklings, and players on Team Octopus were Octolings, even if players had not yet unlocked Octolings by completing the Octo Expansion. Players kept the rest of their customization, such as gender, eye, and skin color, while having the default hairstyle for the character, if a player happened to be the opposite species.
 * The lifetime ink coverage tracked in SplatNet 2 counted the turf inked as the species the player appeared as during battle. Therefore, it only counted as an Inkling if the player was on Team Squid, even if they were playing as an Octoling.
 * After having selected a team and using the Splatfest booth in Splatoon 2, it is possible to view the winners of 10× and 100× battles. When viewing these before the Splatfest has begun, the screen shows no players, and placeholder text for the team name is shown instead as [Group] [Property] "Черный шлем для экстрима, Фиолетовые сушитапки 750с и Шпионский зонт «Родиччи»" — Russian for "Matte Bike Helmet, Purple Iromaki 750s and Undercover Sorella Brella" — while the player names are 0123456789 with each player having the Rainmaker as their weapon.
 * The special Frosty Fest Splatfest Fam vs. Friend was the first Splatfest to include a unique match start theme. This theme could only be heard in-game during this special Splatfest.
 * It can alternatively be heard here: [[Media:Frosty Fest Intro Music.mp3|Frosty Fest - Match Intro]].
 * Each Splatfest art in Splatoon 2 has a small signature next to it at the bottom left side, which denotes which artist made that artwork. For example Seita Inoue made the Retro vs. Modern Splatfest art as his signature is present on the art.
 * As of now three different artists have made Splatoon 2's Splatfest artwork.
 * In supplementary material for Splatoon 2, it was shown that the Squid Sisters chose teams for Splatfests despite not appearing in Inkopolis Square. Callie usually picked Pearl's teams and Marie picked Marina's.

Names in other languages
Splatfest titles

Clout

#× Battle