Splatoon (series)

Splatoon is a multimedia franchise based around a series of third-person shooter video games developed by Nintendo.

Video games
At E3 2014, Nintendo announced, the culmination of experiments dating back over a year, to be released in 2015. After an extensive marketing campaign, the game launched for the Wii U on 2015-05-28 and continued to be actively supported until late 2016. The series immediately saw success upon the launch of its initial game, selling extremely well across all regions and spawning a franchise across multiple other media.

On 2016-10-20, only one month after the final update to Splatoon, Nintendo's reveal trailer for the Nintendo Switch teased new content in the series for the console. The January 2017 Nintendo Switch Presentation officially revealed it as for a release that summer and eventually launched on 2017-07-21. A sequel to the first game, it introduced new weapons, modes, locations and characters to the Splatoon universe and sold multiple times more copies than the original. The game continues to be supported as of December of 2023.

The March 2018 Nintendo Direct revealed that the series' first paid DLC, titled the Octo Expansion, would be released for Splatoon 2 that summer. It was released on 2018-06-14 and added new playable characters and an expansive new single-player campaign to the game.

Splatoon 3 was revealed during the February 2021 Nintendo Direct, and was released on the Nintendo Switch on 2022-09-09. It features new weapons, a new single-player story, and takes place in a new location, the Splatlands.

Other media
In 2016, a manga series was officially published in Japan. It follows Team Blue, consisting of Goggles, Specs, Bobble Hat and Headphones, as they compete against various rival teams in Turf War cups and Ranked Battles. It began to be localized in 2017 and continues to be published into 2023. In 2017, two episodes of the manga got animated and published on YouTube and on a DVD disc.

A second manga series, Splatoon: Squid Kids Comedy Show, debuted in Japan in 2017. It is a gag manga series of four-panel jokes based on and began to be localized in 2020. This series also continues to be published into 2023.

Merchandise
Nintendo signed license agreements with various companies to make Splatoon branded products.

Plot, themes, and characters
In both and, the player is a new arrival in Inkopolis, a city inhabited mainly by squid-like creatures called Inklings, as well as other sea creatures that have adapted to live on land. Here, they compete in ink battles - a sport that involves splattering ink on the ground and at opponents to carry out various objectives - in order to earn popularity and cash which they can use to buy gear and weapons.

In the original Splatoon, the player arrives at Inkopolis Plaza, where they soon find that the Great Zapfish that powers the city has been stolen by the Octarian forces. In order to get it back, they head to Octo Valley through a manhole found in the plaza. Once there, the player meets Cap'n Cuttlefish, an elderly Inkling who is trying to track down the Great Zapfish. The player then joins forces with him, becoming Agent 3 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, and is tasked with venturing through various locations in Octo Valley to locate and reclaim the Great Zapfish.

In Splatoon 2, the player arrives at Inkopolis Square two years after the events of the first game, where they learn that Callie from the Squid Sisters pop idol group has gone missing, along with the Great Zapfish. The player then spots Marie, Callie's cousin, stood on top of a manhole in the corner of Inkopolis Square and follows her to Octo Canyon. Here, Marie asks the player for help in her search for both the Great Zapfish and Callie. After agreeing to her request, the player then becomes Agent 4 and travels through Octo Canyon to track them down.

In the Octo Expansion, the player is an Octoling nicknamed Agent 8, who is trapped in the Deepsea Metro subway system. They soon meet up with Cap'n Cuttlefish and explore further into the subway where they find a telephone. The Telephone tasks them with passing a series of tests in order to collect four Thangs which will allow them to leave the subway and go to the "promised land". During the tests, Agent 8 receives advice from Pearl and Marina, who help them to escape the subway.

Gameplay mechanics
Players use various weapons to spray ink to claim territory and damage opponents. Players can remain in humanoid form to attack, and switch to cephalopod form to submerge in ink. While submerged in ink the player can refill their ink tank, swim to move faster than in humanoid form, or stay still to hide from opponents.