Rumors and leaks

We have a leak!

This article or section discusses unreleased content that has not been confirmed. Information is subject to change.
Please review our policy on rumors and leaks before adding leaked information.

For the policy regarding rumors and leaks, see Inkipedia:Policy/Rumors and leaks.

There have been several rumors and leaks regarding Splatoon content - some were created by the community, while others were sparked by the developers themselves.

Ongoing

This is a list of rumors and leaks that have neither been confirmed true nor false.

New Salmon Run Next Wave enemies

OatmealDome on Twitter tweeted that four currently unused filenames for Salmon Run Next Wave enemies were found in the game's code. They are called, "Balloon", "BigBalloon", "Ghost", and "Wheel".

According to OatmealDome, BigBalloon is likely a King Salmonid, as there is unique dialogue for Mr. Grizz when it appears, similar to Cohozuna. It also appears to have the ability to create an ink explosion, and that it may be restricted to move on a rail rather than moving freely.

Balloon can also apparently create an explosion, although it is unknown if it is related to BigBalloon.

Ghost appears to create some sort of smoke effect, and Wheel has no information other than its name.

According to the leaker there are no assets in the files for any of the enemies.

New Salmon Run Next Wave mode

A new Salmon Run Next Wave mode was leaked by LeanYoshi. Its codename is "Underground", and it will be a harder version of normal Salmon Run. It is currently under development and unfinished for most parts, according to the dataminer. In this mode, all Boss Salmonids have 30% more HP than normal and most Salmonids also move 30% faster. Additionally, each wave there will be two bosses that drop Big Golden Eggs, similar to those used in the Rocket Battle in Return of the Mammalians. These Golden Eggs count for five normal Golden Eggs each.

Interestingly, these Big Golden Eggs were once intended to be in the Giant Tornado event. There is an unused flag that tells the game to spawn these giant eggs when a player breaks a crate. These would be worth 10 normal Golden Eggs in that mode.

Changed or scrapped

A list of rumors and leaks that were either changed before being implemented in-game, or ultimately never released.

OatmealDome leak on Reddit

In August 2017, Reddit user OatmealDome made two posts with data mined information from Splatoon 2 which had not been officially revealed at the time. Many upcoming Splatoon 2 weapons and gear had been found in the game's files.

There were several instances of the final in-game information being different from the data mined values, usually special gauge size. This was due to Nintendo continuing to make changes to weapon sets before unlocking them.

• The Splattershot had its special weapon changed from the Tenta Missiles to the Splashdown.
• The Splat Roller had its sub weapon changed from Curling Bombs to Suction Bombs for the Splatoon 2 Global Testfire, then back to Curling Bombs for the final release.
• The Gold Dynamo Roller had its sub weapon changed from Toxic Mist to Splat Bombs and its special gauge size increased from 180p to 200p.
• The Hydra Splatling had its special weapon changed from the Ink Armor to the Splashdown and its special gauge size decreased from 190p to 180p.
• The Inkbrush Nouveau had its special gauge size decreased from 180p to 160p.
• The N-ZAP '89 had its special gauge size increased from 180p to 190p.
• The Octobrush Nouveau had its special gauge size decreased from 180p to 170p.
• The Dapple Dualies Nouveau had its special gauge size decreased from 180p to 170p.
• The .52 Gal Deco had its special gauge size increased from 180p to 190p.
• The .96 Gal Deco had its special gauge size increased from 180p to 190p.
• The Custom Goo Tuber had its special gauge size decreased from 180p to 170p.
• The Dark Tetra Dualies had its special gauge size decreased from 180p to 170p.
• The H-3 Nozzlenose D had its sub weapon changed from Sprinklers to Suction Bombs. The information from the March 15th update was correct.
• The Zink Mini Splatling had its special gauge size increased from 180p to 200p. The information from the March 15th update was correct.
• The Sorella Brella had its sub weapon changed from Toxic Mist to Autobombs. The information from the March 15th update was correct.
• The Clash Blaster Neo had its sub weapon changed from Sprinklers to Burst Bombs for the Version 3.0.0 preview video, then to Curling Bombs for the release. The information from the March 15th update was correct.
• The Tri-Slosher Nouveau had its special changed from the Autobomb Launcher to the Ink Storm. The information from the March 15th update was correct.
• The Custom Range Blaster had its sub weapon changed from Burst Bombs to Curling Bombs and its special weapon changed from the Sting Ray to the Bubble Blower. The information from the March 15th update was correct.
• The Custom Dualie Squelchers had its special weapon changed from the Ink Armor to the Sting Ray for the Version 3.0.0 preview video, then to the Ink Storm for the release and its special gauge size increased from 180p to 190p. The information from the April 24th update was correct.
• The Rapid Blaster Pro Deco had its sub weapon changed from Curling Bombs to Splash Walls. The information from the March 15th update was correct.
• The Carbon Roller Deco had its sub weapon changed from Sprinklers to Burst Bombs and its special weapon from the Inkjet to the Autobomb Launcher and its special gauge size increased from 170p to 190p. The information from the April 24th update was correct.
• The Tenta Sorella Brella had its special weapon changed from the Ink Armor to the Curling-Bomb Launcher. The information from the April 24th update was correct.
• The Custom Hydra Splatling had its special weapon changed from the Splashdown to the Ink Armor. The information from the March 15th update was correct.
• The Light Tetra Dualies had its special weapon changed from Splat-Bomb Launcher to the Autobomb Launcher. The information from the July 12th update was correct.
• The Custom Explosher had its sub weapon changed from Autobombs to Point Sensors.
• The Ballpoint Splatling Nouveau had its special weapon changed from the Splashdown to the Ink Storm.
• The Bloblobber Deco had its sub weapon changed from Fizzy Bombs to Sprinklers.
• The Nautilus 79 had its special weapon changed from the Ink Armor to the Inkjet, its sub weapon changed from Splat Bombs to Suction Bombs, and its brand changed from Foil to Ammo Knights.

Unfinished ranked modes

An unfinished ranked mode code-named "Rocket", with a unique object (vRocket) and weapon (vRocketNozzle). Hacking a work-in-progress version into the game shows a mode where a rocket object that is launched by shooting ink at it and an ink pump weapon that can be used to continue advancing once control of the rocket is gained.

Another unfinished Ranked mode, code-named "Eight-Ball", can be accessed with hacks. It involves the player shooting a large ball reminiscent of the 8-Ball to roll it towards the opposing team's goal.

Miscellaneous

• A new scrapped special weapon codenamed "Bazooka." This is not the Inkzooka, which is codenamed "SuperShot."
• The original Octoling Armor and Octoling Boots to accompany the Octoleet Goggles. Data and models for both of them exist in the game's files but were ultimately never released.
• The Tentacles Helmet was shown in the 8 March 2018 Nintendo Direct but did not see a release.

Confirmed

This is a list of rumors or leaks that have been confirmed to be true.

Splatoon

Prima Strategy Guide "Coming Soon" section

Prima's guide showing then-upcoming maps and weapons.

The Prima Strategy Guide for Splatoon included a "Coming Soon" section which showed off upcoming weapons and stages.

• Weapons: Carbon Roller, Custom E-liter 3K, E-liter 3K Scope, Inkbrush, L-3 Nozzlenose, N-ZAP '85, N-ZAP '89, Rapid Blaster Deco and Splash-o-matic.
• Stages: Bluefin Depot, Kelp Dome, Camp Triggerfish, and Port Mackerel.

There are also two images of Tower Control.

Datamine DLC leak

NWPlayer123 datamined Splatoon and leaked information about upcoming weapons, stages, and modes. Also, some pictures and explanations were shown about the new Ranked modes, Tower Control and Rainmaker.

The leaker also uploaded a video of the Sploosh-o-matic, one of the leaked unreleased weapons, after using live memory edits to add it in.

The following content was revealed due to this datamine:

Weapons

• Sploosh-o-matic
• Neo Splash-o-matic
• N-ZAP '89
• Custom Dual Squelcher
• Luna Blaster
• Carbon Roller
• Octobrush
• E-liter 3K Scope

Stages

• Moray Towers
• Camp Triggerfish

Modes

• Rainmaker's description and gameplay mechanics.

Version 2.0.0 datamining

After the release of Version 2.0.0 of Splatoon, NWPlayer123 and Guy Perfect once again dug into the data and found more information regarding unreleased content, including weapons, stages, gear, character models and game modes.

Sloshing Machine datamining

In a similar vein to the Version 2.0.0 datamining, NWPlayer123 posted photos and video of a new slosher variety, the Sloshing Machine, as well as other minor additions in Version 2.2.0.

Squid Sisters amiibo

Squid Sisters' amiibo promo.

A Twitter post by NWPlayer123 on 30 January 2016 showed the results of continued data mining as new amiibo coming for Splatoon, called "AmiiboIdolA" and "AmiiboIdolB" in the game's files. It was believed they could be Squid Sisters amiibo, hence the names. These files were added in the version 2.4.0 update and speculation on them, as well as some "SCLive" strings that corresponded to the amiibo entries, date as far back as 17 December 2015.

On 30 April 2016, it finally announced that Squid Sisters' amiibo would be released on 7 July 2016.

Splatoon 2

Playable Octolings

Playable girl and boy Octolings that were released with the Octo Expansion.

New Rank Battle mode

A new Ranked mode, Clam Blitz, released on December 13, 2017.

Stages

Two new Salmon Run stages codenamed "Shakehouse" and "Threepoints" respectively.

• Shakehouse became Lost Outpost.
• Threepoints became Salmonid Smokeyard. Now codenamed "Shakelift."

Kelp Dome, Blackbelly Skatepark and Ancho-V Games have returned from Splatoon.

Six new stages codenamed "Pillar", "Kawa" (Japanese for 'river'), "Line", "Tunnel", "Nakasu" and "Mirror" respectively.

• Pillar became Manta Maria.
• Kawa became Snapper Canal.
• Line became MakoMart.
• Tunnel became Shellendorf Institute.
• Nakasu became New Albacore Hotel.
• Mirror became Skipper Pavilion.

Weapons

Four new main weapons (one returning), one new sub weapon, one new special weapon and one rare weapon:

• Explosher (codenamed "Washtub"), Ballpoint Splatling (codenamed "Downpour"), Bloblobber (codenamed "Bathtub") and Nautilus 47 (codenamed "Serein").
• Fizzy Bomb (codenamed "Wsp_Piyo").
• Booyah Bomb (codenamed "SuperBall").
• Octo Shot Replica (via Octo Expansion).
• The Grizzco Slosher.

Data mined loadouts:

• Explosher: Sprinkler and Bubble Blower.
• Custom Explosher: Autobomb and Baller. Changed to Point Sensor.
• Ballpoint Splatling: Toxic Mist and Inkjet.
• Ballpoint Splatling Nouveau: Squid Beakon and Splashdown. Changed to Ink Storm.
• Bloblobber: Splash Wall and Ink Storm.
• Bloblobber Deco: Fizzy Bomb and Suction-Bomb Launcher. Changed to Sprinkler.
• Nautilus 47: Point Sensor and Baller.
• Nautilus 79: Splat Bomb and Ink Armor. Changed to Suction Bomb and Inkjet.

15 March 2018 update

On 15 March 2018, LeanYoshi, who performed the data mining for weapon stats, updated the weapon loadouts for all previously leaked weapons:

Weapon	Sub	Special	Points
Custom Range Blaster			180p
Clash Blaster Neo			180p
Custom Dualie Squelchers			180p
Custom Hydra Splatling			180p
Tri-Slosher Nouveau			180p
Carbon Roller Deco			170p
H-3 Nozzlenose D			190p
Sorella Brella			180p
New Squiffer			180p
Zink Mini Splatling			200p
Foil Squeezer			180p
Bamboozler 14 Mk II			160p
Rapid Blaster Pro Deco			180p
Neo Splash-o-matic			200p
Over the following weeks, LeanYoshi updated the database with the two following weapons:
Undercover Sorella Brella			180p
Tenta Sorella Brella (Collaboration with Inkline)			180p

24 April 2018 update

On 24 April 2018, LeanYoshi updated the data with a few more changes, as well as updating the database with the Version 3.0.0 changes:

Weapon	Change
	Value	From	To
Carbon Roller Deco	Sub weapon
	Special weapon
	Special points	170	190
Custom Dualie Squelchers	Special weapon
	Special points	180	190
Tenta Sorella Brella	Special weapon
Updates to released content
Blaster Hero Blaster Replica	Special points	170	190
Heavy Splatling Hero Splatling Replica	Special points	180	200
Slosher Deco	Special points	200	220
Luna Blaster Neo	Special points	180	170
Zink Mini Splatling	Special points	200	190
Clash Blaster Neo	Special points	180	170

12 July 2018 update

On 12 July 2018, LeanYoshi updated the data for the Light Tetra Dualies from the Version 3.2.0 update which changed its special from Splat-Bomb Launcher to Autobomb Launcher.

WemI0 3.0.0 datamine

On 26 April 2018, Twitter user WemI0 performed a datamine of Version 3.0.0 in Splatoon 2 and found several models for gear, weapons, and more. These are the confirmed pieces of content:

Salmon Run gear

• Octoleet Goggles, Record Shop Look EP, Dev Uniform, Worker's Head Towel, Beekeeper Hat and Worker's Cap.

amiibo and promotional gear

• Pearl and Marina's outfits from the Octo Expansion (via their amiibo).
• A clothing item based on the Splatoon 2 World Championship held at E3 2018.
• Agent 8's armor from the Octo Expansion.

Splatoon 3

Announcement/Existence

The Twitter-based leaker SamusHunter posted about Splatoon 3's existence in a tweet over a month before its announcement.

Return of Flounder Heights in Splatoon 3

For a split second in the "Return of the Mammalians" trailer for Splatoon 3, an image depicting a water tank found in Flounder Heights can be seen in a black-and-white filter, around 1:10-1:11. It appears to be taken from the stage thumbnail for Splatoon. This leak has been confirmed as a preview of the revised Flounder Heights alongside the previously unnamed Um'ami Ruins was seen in the "post-launch stages" portion of the Splatoon 3 Direct, and the stage would later be added to the game alongside Brinewater Springs in Chill Season 2022.

Testfire Leaked Songs

The Splatoon 3 Splatfest World Premiere was heavily datamined and many songs were discovered in the files. Most of the songs can be found in Soundcloud here.

Additionally, a dataminer found some Deep Cut songs from the demo, including the respective solos from the idols:

• Shiver's Solo (Anarchy Poisons (Bird Mix)): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjZNoAnP8XA
• Frye's Solo (Anarchy Poisons (Snake Mix)): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WecFe3uKbSU
• Big Man's Solo (Anarchy Poisons (Boar Mix)): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8KDzMbO2gE
• Splatfest song 1 (Fins in the Air): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwGiikJE11E
• Splatfest song 2 (Till Depth Do Us Part): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_MMsXRI5GU

REEF-LUX 450

A future Stringer weapon. Compared to the Tri-Stringer it is lighter, shorter-ranged, and does not have explosive fully-charged shots. It comes with the Curling Bomb and Tenta Missiles. This was found by dataminers locating Sheldon's description of the weapon in the game files. Additionally, textured and animated models of the weapon have been found in the Splatoon 3: Splatfest World Premiere files. It was first seen in early Salmon Run Next Wave gameplay where some people got to play Splatoon 3 for a few hours. [21]

Sheldon's description

“	The REEF-LUX 450 is a lighter version of the Tri-Stringer that's a bit more user-friendly for folks who are new to stringer-type weapons. Like most lightweight weapons, it doesn't pack the biggest punch or range—no exploding charged shots here—but it does offer the ability to store a charge This set comes with Curling Bombs to help you close the gap into enemy turf quickly, letting you take full advantage of the nimble nature of your main weapon. And when you want to make a big impact in a hurry, don't forget about your Tenta Missiles. You can make it rain missiles on opponents out of range of the REEF-LUX. This is a highly mobile loadout that lets you fight with flexibility and still take down powerhouse opponents. I hope you give it a try!	”
— File:S2 Icon Sheldon.png Sheldon,

Mr. Grizz as the Villain

Happy New Year 2020 image. The waves spell "SAVE OUR SALMONS".

There are many hints, beginning with a 2020 greeting image posted on SplatoonJP Twitter with a hidden message in the waves spelling "SAVE OUR SALMONS" leading many people within the community to theorize about Mr. Grizz potentially acting as the villain of Splatoon 3's story mode.

Leaked footage of the game verified this idea to be legitimate, as Mr. Grizz is revealed to be the final boss in Splatoon 3's campaign. Referred to as The Ursine Anomaly - #03, Mr. Grizz is an enormous grizzly bear with white eyes, a tan muzzle, and a black nose who is covered in Fuzzy Ooze. With the release of the game, this has been confirmed.

Grizzco Stringer

The model and data for a Grizzco brand Stringer weapon was datamined from the files. The weapon fires 9 shots in an erratic pattern and a wide spread, even if charged fully. According to a dataminer, it was revealed to be first available on 1 October 2022 16:00 UTC during a wildcard rotation.

Future gear

Some players were able to hack future gear into their games. The gear included:

• Some players were able to hack future gear into their games. The gear included: Fake Contacts (Season 2), Astro Helm, White King Tank (Season 5), Gold Hi-Horses (Season 2), Cyan Dakroniks (Season 5), Black Trainers (Season 3), and Yellow-Mesh Sneakers (Season 5).
• Some players were able to hack future gear into their games. The gear included: Fake Contacts (Season 2), Astro Helm, White King Tank (Season 5), Gold Hi-Horses (Season 2), Cyan Dakroniks (Season 5), Black Trainers (Season 3), and Yellow-Mesh Sneakers (Season 5).
• Some players were able to hack future gear into their games. The gear included: Fake Contacts (Season 2), Astro Helm, White King Tank (Season 5), Gold Hi-Horses (Season 2), Cyan Dakroniks (Season 5), Black Trainers (Season 3), and Yellow-Mesh Sneakers (Season 5).
• Some players were able to hack future gear into their games. The gear included: Fake Contacts (Season 2), Astro Helm, White King Tank (Season 5), Gold Hi-Horses (Season 2), Cyan Dakroniks (Season 5), Black Trainers (Season 3), and Yellow-Mesh Sneakers (Season 5).
• Some players were able to hack future gear into their games. The gear included: Fake Contacts (Season 2), Astro Helm, White King Tank (Season 5), Gold Hi-Horses (Season 2), Cyan Dakroniks (Season 5), Black Trainers (Season 3), and Yellow-Mesh Sneakers (Season 5).
• Some players were able to hack future gear into their games. The gear included: Fake Contacts (Season 2), Astro Helm, White King Tank (Season 5), Gold Hi-Horses (Season 2), Cyan Dakroniks (Season 5), Black Trainers (Season 3), and Yellow-Mesh Sneakers (Season 5).
• Some players were able to hack future gear into their games. The gear included: Fake Contacts (Season 2), Astro Helm, White King Tank (Season 5), Gold Hi-Horses (Season 2), Cyan Dakroniks (Season 5), Black Trainers (Season 3), and Yellow-Mesh Sneakers (Season 5).
• Some players were able to hack future gear into their games. The gear included: Fake Contacts (Season 2), Astro Helm, White King Tank (Season 5), Gold Hi-Horses (Season 2), Cyan Dakroniks (Season 5), Black Trainers (Season 3), and Yellow-Mesh Sneakers (Season 5).

Players were able to order this gear before, but after November 10th of 2022 players would get disconnected from the server if they attempted to order them. Additionally, anyone with this gear would have them deleted from their online play data in the next update before their full release.

Busted

This is a list of rumors and leaks that have been confirmed false.

Splatoon

Cheat code

Arrows found in Inkopolis Plaza on top of Booyah Base.

Some days after the game's launch, players noticed that some Sunken Scrolls, as well as signs on Inkopolis Plaza, contain what appears to be arrows pointing up, down, left or right.

On the 9 June 2015, the official Splatoon Facebook page made a joke post referencing how some Facebook users accidentally type Google search queries on their Facebook profiles. This joke, however, sparked curiosity among fans, as the "search" was for "Squid Jump cheats". Naturally, Nintendo staff themselves would not be searching for cheat codes on a game made by their company, meaning the post was placed there on purpose, likely to hint players about the existence of a code hidden inside the game.

On top of this, the official Splatoon Tumblr account made a post about how players can press on the Plaza to look around, and how this serves the additional purpose of getting information on Miiverse posts. It also mentioned that it "may also have another use", which remains unknown to this day.

As of yet, no code has been found, and it is unknown if there is any relation between the arrows, the rumored code, and the rumored extra function of , or if any secret exists, to begin with. Players have since been attempting to figure something out by input the arrow's directions during different parts of the game, mostly the Squid Jump minigame, but without luck.

However, The Art of Splatoon definitely shows that it simply is a stylized spelling of "ブイヤベース" (Booyah Base) in Inkling.

Multiple fake Super Mario Sunshine DLC leaks

The supposedly leaked image.

Around June 2015, there was a "leak" on the internet that Super Mario Sunshine amiibo DLC was coming to Splatoon. Only a single image existed regarding this supposed leak. It has since been proven fake, with the author of the leak releasing the images they used to create it.

Later that year, in July, another Super Mario Sunshine amiibo DLC rumor with several images was found. These images supposedly depicted new Sunshine-related gear and Octo Valley missions. The supposed announcement date passed, and nothing like it was added, confirming it as false.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Splatoon 2

Flounder Heights returning

In late 2017, speculation emerged about the possible return of Flounder Heights. This speculation was based on a placeholder entry that had a misspelling of the stage's Canadian French name.

Marie's charger

There was a rumor in 2018 that Marie's Hero Charger from Octo Canyon would be added as a playable weapon.

Wasabi Splattershot

There was a Twitter post in mid-2018 that rumored that the Wasabi Splattershot would return, which included a promotional render image and its sub and special, Toxic Mist and a new unheard of special at the time. But this was confirmed false with the release of the Kensa Splattershot in Kensa Collection Volume 1 in September of that year. The unknown special became known as the Booyah Bomb.

Splatoon 3

SamusHunter leaks

File:Splatoon3Invitational.jpeg

The supposedly leaked image

The controversial Twitter leaker SamusHunter was submitted an E3 2021 - What to expect graphic, with one of the pictures being for a "2021 Splatoon 3 World Inkling Invitational". None of these events were seen in the E3 2021 Direct and outdated branding was used for the images.

Open-world Splatlands

Many people within the community have created theories that lead to Splatoon 3's single-player taking place in an open-world area. These theories take many different pieces of evidence from the trailer and the Squid Research Lab, ranging from the walking of Smallfry being too far back for the classic platformer hero mode, and to what seems to be an entire shop for bikes. Gameplay shown in the September 2021 Nintendo Direct showed platforming gameplay more reminiscent of Octo Valley and Octo Canyon with the player collecting Zapfish on linear stages.

The Reef returning in Splatoon 3

The Reef's filename was found in the Splatoon 3 Splatfest World Premiere's files, and can possibly return in Splatoon 3. However, the reference was removed from the full game in Version 2.1.1, confirming this theory as false.

Apartments in Splatoon 3

There have been some theories from fans that apartments would be introduced in Splatoon 3. This theory was proven false as the game introduced customizable lockers instead at launch.

References