Splatoon 3

Splatoon 3 is the upcoming third entry in the Splatoon series. It is currently scheduled to release on the Nintendo Switch in 2022, and was revealed in the 2021-02-17 Nintendo Direct. More information will be released in the future.

Development
In an interview with the weekly Famitsu magazine from around July 2019, Splatoon and Splatoon 2 producer Hisashi Nogami said that after completing Splatoon 2 they focused on Octo Expansion and updates for Splatoon 2 and would not think about the future until completing version 5.0 of Splatoon 2. This means that Splatoon 3 development had not started as of July 2019, and likely started after the release of version 5.0 on 2019-07-31. This is quite different compared to the timing of the development of Splatoon 2, which started immediately after Splatoon was released.

Splatoon 3 will be the first game in the series to be localized into Korean and Chinese.

Story
The game takes place in the Splatlands, a sun-scorched desert inhabited by battle-hardened Inklings and Octolings, and Splatsville, a city of chaos, one and a half years after the final Splatfest, Chaos vs. Order. The outcome of the Splatfest is likely the reason the game's design is themed around chaos.

Gameplay
Like its predecessors, Splatoon 3 is a third-person shooter game focused on online multiplayer battles, in which eight players are divided into two teams of four. Players have two main forms and may switch between the two at will: their humanoid form, in which they can use weapons to spread ink and splat opponents, and their squid or octopus form, which, if they enter their team's ink while in the form, allows them to swim through ink at great speed, including up walls, recharge their ink tank faster, and hide.

Players will have access to new movement techniques to dodge attacks and expand the possibilities of attacks. "Squid roll" allows them to leap and twirl out of their ink, and a "squid surge" allows them to quickly swim up ink-covered walls and jump out at the top.

In the Splatlands, players in online battles enter the battlefield with the spawner drone. It floats above the stage behind each base and allows players to aim at their desired deployment location within a certain reach. After choosing where to deploy, the spawner drone launches players to that location in squid or octopus form in a similar fashion to a Super Jump. The regular spawn points are still present on the stage, but not confirmed to be usable.

Characters
At this time, only two characters are known:
 * The player, an Inkling or Octoling
 * The player's "little buddy", a Smallfry.

Player customization
The genders of the Inklings and Octolings are no longer explicitly stated. Instead, the player "selects a style". Octolings can now be selected from the outset and the Inklings have a cut in their left eyebrow.

New player customization options have been added:
 * New eye colors, including heterochromatic eyes that form a gradient from one color to another.
 * New hairstyles
 * Hairstyles and legwear are no longer split between genders, though hairstyles are still split between species.
 * At least 4 new Inkling hairstyles and 4 new Octoling hairstyles will be available.
 * In keeping with the "chaos" theme, many of the new hairstyles are asymmetrical.
 * The "Hippie", "Topknot", "Haircut", "Pigtail", "Banger", "Double-Bun", "Punk", and "Tentacurl" hairstyles are also shown to return.
 * Returning headgear includes the Annaki Beret & Glasses, Annaki Mask, Fugu Bell Hat, Full Moon Glasses, Golf Visor, Knitted Hat, Safari Hat, Short Beanie, Sneaky Beanie, Studio Headphones, SV925 Circle Shades, Swim Goggles, Fake Contacts and White Arrowbands.
 * Returning clothes include the Annaki Yellow Cuff, B-ball Jersey (Home), Camo Layered LS, Camo Zip Hoodie, King Jersey, N-Pacer Sweat, Purple Camo LS, Red Hula Punk with Tie, Rockenberg White, Shirt & Tie, and Zekko Long Carrot Tee.
 * Returning shoes include the Amber Sea Slug Hi-Tops, Blue Power Stripes, Choco Clogs, Punk Cherries, Red FishFry Sandals, Snowy Down Boots, Tea-Green Hunting Boots, and Turquoise Kicks.
 * One new legwear option.
 * New gear.

Players now have a "little buddy"; a Smallfry with seven hair customization choices.

Locations
At this time, these locations are known:
 * Splatlands
 * Splatsville
 * Ammo Knights
 * Battle Lobby Tower
 * The Shoal
 * Scorch Gorge is a stage located in a desert wasteland.
 * Eeltail Alley
 * Museum d'Alfonsino

Modes
So far, Turf War is the only mode that has been confirmed and with no change to the rules.

Stages

 * Scorch Gorge - A new stage with a visual aesthetic very similar to Saltspray Rig or Salmon Run stages, but located in a desert wasteland instead of at sea.
 * Eeltail Alley - A new stage set in an alley the middle of the city. Various bridges placed around the stage give it a separate upper and lower layer.
 * Museum d'Alfonsino - A returning stage from, still located in Inkopolis. The shape of the large rotating platforms in the center of the stage appear to have been altered.
 * A job listing for a level designer by Nintendo announced at the same time as the game's reveal includes "既存ステージの改修" (renovation of existing stages). This could either mean that stages from the previous games will be returning, or that the role's responsibilities will include fixing bugs and balance issues in stages after the game's release.

Main weapons

 * A bow and arrow-style weapon was added. Once charged, it fires three strings of ink simultaneously. Its design seems to be based on a fishing rod, using the reel and string. The weapon also appears to have two stages of charge, as seen in the Nintendo Switch OLED trailer.
 * Several weapons already present in the previous games seem to have gone through a re-design, including an E-liter Scope, Range Blaster, Splattershot, Hydra Splatling, Dynamo Roller, Blaster, Sloshing Machine, and .96 Gal, as shown in the first Direct, and Splash-o-matic, Glooga Dualies, Undercover Brella, Splat Roller, Clash Blaster, and Splat Charger in the second Direct. It is currently unknown if they will keep their attributes from the previous games, or what their kits will be.
 * Some hidden weapons in Splatsville's Ammo Knights store, although they aren't confirmed yet.

Sub weapons

 * The Splat Bomb, Curling Bomb, and Burst Bomb all make appearances in the Direct. It is currently unknown if it will retain the same attributes from the previous games.

Special weapons

 * A special weapon similar to the Inkzooka called the Trizooka appears that fires three blobs of ink together.
 * The weapon is shown to eject white capsule-shaped shells when firing. Three capsule slots are seen, so it may be assumed this weapon can only fire three times.
 * The character in the trailer using the special is the same character that uses the bow and arrow in the previous scenes, so it might be a part of that weapon's set. It was also seen reverting into a Splattershot, so it is likely a part of a Splattershot's weapon set.
 * A new miniature floating beam special weapon called the Killer Wail 5.1 was added. It consists of six separate Sting Ray-like lasers that pierce any stage obstacles, and seem to follow enemy players in pairs. The design of the contraptions these lasers originate from appear similar to miniature Killer Wails with the bottoms of Suction Bombs attached to them.
 * A crab-shaped robot that can transform into a ball called the Crab Tank has also been seen. It made a reappearance in the Direct where it demonstrated firing both bullets and a more powerful charged shot.
 * A deployable Shield dome called the Big Bubbler was shown in the Direct.
 * A Grappling Hook like special weapon called the Zipcaster was shown in the Direct.
 * The Tenta Missile-like projectiles can also be seen in one of the pictures.

Music
The trailer contains a new remix of Splattack!, different from both the original version and the Octo Expansion remix. It is currently unknown if this remix will be included in the game, or if it was created only for the trailer. This remix seems to suggest the game's music will follow a more rock-esque style, especially considering the overall theme of the game seemingly being based on Chaos winning the Final Fest.

Trivia

 * In the Splatoon 3 announcement trailer, it can be seen during the Turf War match that the bow and arrow player starts at the yellow team and switches over to the purple team mid-match.
 * The ink color set shown in the announcement trailer is similar to the Color Lock set in, as well as one of the Ranked Battle color sets in.
 * This is the first Splatoon installment to take place outside of Inkopolis.
 * Inkopolis Memorial Mixtape ends with the same drum loop used in the Splatoon loading screen followed by the opening of the original version of Splattack!, similar to the Splatoon 3 announcement trailer.
 * On one of the apartments, there is a sticker resembling the button on Squid Squad's first album.
 * In the Splatoon 3 announcement trailer, it can be seen that, during the part showing individual Inklings and Octolings, the Octoling who appears to be using a modified Hydra Splatling has the symmetrical teeth of an Inkling, counter to the asymmetrical teeth Octolings usually have.
 * Octolings also use the Inkling's model during mid squid-to-kid transformation, most likely as a place holder until the proper model and animation can be implemented.
 * The jellyfish seen in the Octo Expansion can be seen in Splatsville, implying that they were able to escape the Deepsea Metro. With this, there is a possibility that other denizens of the deep will be present in Splatsville, as well as other locations in Splatoon 3.