Special Splatfest

Deep Cut performing in alternate costumes for Palace vs. Theme Park vs. Beach, a seasonal special Splatfest with the Summer Nights theme.

Special Splatfest refers to certain Splatfest events in the Splatoon series. The qualifications for what makes a Splatfest considered "special" vary from game to game; generally, Splatfests that feature drastic cosmetic hub changes alongside alternate idol costuming related to the event theming have been called special in promotional material, though there have been several cases of Splatfests that do not fit these criteria also being called such.

Seasonal special Splatfests are holiday-themed reocurring seasonal Splatfest events.

Final Splatfests are each game in the Splatoon series's final Splatfest event altogether; though not reoccuring, they share a lot of traits with seasonal special Splatfests.

In Splatoon 2, non-special Splatfests would always last a single day, while most special Splatfests occurred over two consecutive days; as of Splatoon 3, nearly all Splatfests, special or not, last two consecutive days by default.

Collaborations in the context of Splatfest events refer to real-life brand tie-ins, resulting in Splatfest events themed around real life media, brands or other promotional content. Collaboration Splatfests tend to be accompanied by real-life tie-in crossover merchandise moreso than other special Splatfests.

Differences from standard Splatfest events

Standard special Splatfests tend to have minimal cosmetic and/or mechanical differences from regular Splatfests. Collaboration Splatfests tend to have real-life tie-in crossover themed merchandise, but otherwise play out the same as regular Splatfests. In contrast, seasonal special Splatfests as well as final Splatfests present drastic cosmetic changes to the standard Splatfest event formula, usually to fit seasonal holiday themes.

Seasonal special Splatfests' and final Splatfests' general criteria are defined and compared in the following table:

	Splatoon	Splatoon 2	Splatoon 3	Description
Global coverage and theming	✓	✓	N/A	The Splatfest event takes place in all regions.
Extended duration	✓	✓	✓	The Splatfests' event periods are longer than standard.
Hub changes	✗	✓	✓	The hub areas receive significant cosmetic changes related to the event's theme.
Alternate idol costumes	✗	✓	✓	The idols perform wearing alternate themed costumes during the event.
Promotional gear	✗	✓	✓	Gear related to the event theme is released via the Nintendo Switch News app.
Themed title screen	✗	✓	✓	The game's title screen features a unique logo and stickers. When entering the news broadcast, special sound effects are played.
Modified battle opening screen	✗	✓	✓	The battle opening screen is modified to fit the event theme.
Modified battle results screen	✗	✗	✓	The battle results screens are modified to fit the event theme.
Modified ink visuals	✗	✓	✓	In addition to ink colors changing to match the teams, unique visual effects/textures are added to the ink.
Alternate stickers in stages	✗	✓	✗	The stickers found throughout stages are replaced with themed variants.
Themed music	✗	✗	✓	The music tracks heard in the hubs and/or lobbies are modified or swapped for themed variants.

Per-game individual special Splatfest criteria

The following tables detail and compare the special Splatfest criteria of all eligible Splatfests per game:

Splatoon's special Splatfests
Splatfest event	Special features
	Special rotation schedule	Increased length note*	Global coverage	Collaboration
Red Kitsune Udon vs. Green Tanuki Soba (July 2015)	✗	✗	✗	✓
Autobots vs. Decepticons	✗	✗	✗	✓
Squid vs. Octopus (2015)	✗	✗	✗	✓
Land Food vs. Seafood	✗	✗	✗	✓
Red Kitsune Udon vs. Green Tanuki Soba (December 2015)	✗	✗	✗	✓
Pokémon Red vs. Pokémon Green	✗	✗	✗	✓
Pokémon Red vs. Pokémon Blue	✗	✗	✗	✓
Show No Mercy! vs. Focus on Healing	✗	✗	✗	✓
Spongebob vs. Patrick	✗	✗	✗	✓
Fancy Party vs. Costume Party	✗	✗	✓	✓
Chocorooms vs. Chococones (2016)	✗	✗	✗	✓
Callie vs. Marie	✓	✓	✓	✗

Splatoon 2's special Splatfests
Splatfest event	Special features
	Hub changes	Alternate idol costumes	Special rotation schedule	Increased length note*	Global coverage	Promotional Gear	Collaboration
Rock vs. Pop (2017)	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
Cake vs. Ice Cream	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
Fries vs. McNuggets	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓
Warm Innerwear vs. Warm Outerwear	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓
The Champion vs. The Challenger	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓
Newest Model vs. Most Popular Model	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓	✓
New Life-Forms vs. Advanced Technology	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓
Raph vs. Leo	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓
Mikey vs. Donnie	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓
Raph vs. Donnie	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓
Hello Kitty vs. Cinnamoroll	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓
My Melody vs. Pompompurin	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓
Hello Kitty vs. My Melody	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓
Squid vs. Octopus (2018)	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓	✗	✗
Chocorooms vs. Chococones (2018)	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓
Tsubuan vs. Koshian	✓	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
Retro vs. Modern	✓	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
Trick vs. Treat (2018)	✓	✓	✗	✓	✓	✓	✗
Pocky Chocolate vs. Pocky Gokuboso	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓
Hero vs. Villain	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓	✗	✓
Family vs. Friends	✓	✓	✗	✓	✓	✓	✗
Knight vs. Wizard	✗	✓	✗	✗	✓	✗	✗
Hare vs. Tortoise	✓	✗	✗	✓	✓	✓	✗
Ce League vs. Pa League	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓
Chaos vs. Order	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✗
Mayo vs. Ketchup (2020)	✗	✗	✗	✓	✓	✗	✗
Chicken vs. Egg (2020)	✗	✗	✗	✓	✓	✗	✗
Trick vs. Treat (2020)	✗	✗	✗	✓	✓	✗	✗
Super Mushroom vs. Super Star	✗	✗	✗	✓	✓	✗	✓

Splatoon 3's special Splatfests
Splatfest event	Special features
	Hub changes	Alternate idol costumes	Promotional gear	Promotional banner(s)	Collaboration
Rock vs. Paper vs. Scissors	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
Grass vs. Fire vs. Water	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓
Power vs. Wisdom vs. Courage	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓
Shiver vs. Frye vs. Big Man	✗	✗	✗	✓	✗
Zombie vs. Skeleton vs. Ghost	✓	✓	✓	✓	✗
Friends vs. Family vs. Solo	✓	✓	✓	✓	✗
Red Bean Paste vs. Custard vs. Whipped Cream	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓
Lightly Salted vs. Consommé vs. Salted Seaweed	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓
Baby Chicks vs. Li'l Bunnies vs. Bear Cubs	✓	✓	✓	✓	✗
Palace vs. Theme Park vs. Beach	✓	✓	✓	✓	✗

List of special Splatfests

Seasonal

Splatoon 2 introduced seasonal special Splatfests, which are themed after real-life holiday periods. Seasonal Splatfests' main differences from standard special Splatfests is their related drastic changes to the hub areas' decoration, unique alternate costuming for the performing idols and release of tie-in promotional gear shortly before the event period, allowing for players to "dress up" for the event.

As of Splatoon 3 these events are referred to as "seasonal" special Splatfests; prior to this, they were called simply "special Splatfests".

Splatoween

Inkopolis Square decorated for Splatoon 2's Splatoween

Splatsville decorated for Splatoon 3's Splatoween

A Halloween-themed special Splatfest event that debuted in Splatoon 2 with Trick vs. Treat (2018).

Splatoween event	Game	Date	Notes
Trick vs. Treat (2018)	Splatoon 2	19 October 2018 to 21 October 2018
Trick vs. Treat (2020)		30 October 2020 to 1 November 2020	Part of Splatoon 2's 2020-2021 Splatfest re-runs.
Zombie vs. Skeleton vs. Ghost	Splatoon 3	28 October 2023 to 30 October 2023

FrostyFest

Splatsville decorated for Splatoon 3's FrostyFest

A Christmas and New Years Day-themed special Splatfest event that debuted in Splatoon 2 with Family vs. Friend.

FrostyFest event	Game	Date	Notes
Family vs. Friends	Splatoon 2	4 January 2019 to 6 January 2019
Friends vs. Family vs. Solo	Splatoon 3	13 January 2024 to 15 January 2024	It was announced in late November 2023 without a mention of its theme nor date. The theme and date were announced on 22 December 2023.

SpringFest

Title screen featuring Inkopolis Square decorated for Splatoon 2's SpringFest event

A springtime, ostensibly Easter-themed special Splatfest event that debuted in Splatoon 2 with Hare vs. Tortoise; notably themed around secular North American candy and bunny traditions with no religious connotations/references nor mentions of Easter directly.

SpringFest event	Game	Date	Notes
Hare vs. Tortoise	Splatoon 2	19 April 2019 to 21 April 2019
Baby Chicks vs. Li'l Bunnies vs. Bear Cubs	Splatoon 3	20 April 2024 to 22 April 2024	It was announced in late February 2024 without a mention of its theme nor date. The theme and date were announced on 5 April 2024.

Summer Nights

Splatsville decorated for Splatoon 3's Summer Nights

A summer-themed special Splatfest event that debuted in Splatoon 3 with Palace vs. Theme Park vs. Beach.

Summer Nights event	Game	Date	Notes
Palace vs. Theme Park vs. Beach	Splatoon 3	13 July 2024 to 15 July 2024	It was announced in 28 May 2024 without a mention of its theme nor date. The theme and date were announced on 21 June 2024.

Final Splatfests

The drastic hub changes during Splatoon 2's Chaos vs. Order; note the post-apocalyptic atmosphere

Entrance arch in the Grand Festival

The final Splatfest event within a Splatoon series game's initial live service period receives extensive promotional coverage leading up to longer than usual event periods.

In the case of Splatoon and Splatoon 2 in which Splatfests no longer take place altogether, the outcome of their respective final Splatfests notably heavily influenced their sequel games.

Final Splatfest event	Game	Date	Notes
Callie vs. Marie	Splatoon	22 July 2016 to 24 July 2016	Team Marie's victory influenced the plot of Splatoon 2's story mode.
Chaos vs. Order Final Fest: Splatocalypse	Splatoon 2	18 July 2019 to 21 July 2019	Despite being branded as such and referred to as "Final Fest", several encore repeat Splatfests took place in the following months, though these had no effect on the storyline. Team Chaos' victory influenced the art direction in Splatoon 3 as well as the storyline in the single-player campaign Side Order.
Past vs. Present vs. Future Grand Festival	Splatoon 3	13 September 2024 to 16 September 2024	Referred to as the "grand" finale of Splatoon 3's Splatfests, this special Splatfest uniquely has its three teams represented by the three different idol groups rather than individual members of Deep Cut.

Collaboration Splatfests

Splatoon

Collaboration event	Date	Notes
Red Kitsune Udon vs. Green Tanuki Soba (July 2015)	3 July 2015 to 4 July 2015	Japan region-exclusive. Rematched later in the same year with Red Kitsune Udon vs. Green Tanuki Soba (December 2015). Collaboration with Maruchan.
Autobots vs. Decepticons	30 August 2015 to 31 August 2015	North America region-exclusive. Collaboration with Transformers: Robots in Disguise.
Squid vs. Octopus (2015)	10 October 2015 to 11 October 2015	Japan region-exclusive. Collaboration with the Kura Sushi restaurant chain.
Land Food vs. Seafood	21 November 2015 to 22 November 2015	Japan region-exclusive. Collboration with Saga Prefecture in Japan and in magazines.
Red Kitsune Udon vs. Green Tanuki Soba (December 2015)	26 December 2015 to 27 December 2015	Japan region-exclusive. Rematch of Red Kitsune Udon vs. Green Tanuki Soba (July 2015). Collaboration with Maruchan.
Pokémon Red vs. Pokémon Green Pokémon Red vs. Pokémon Blue	19 February 2016 to 20 February 2016 20 February 2016 to 21 February 2016	Japan region. Occurring alongside other regions' Pokémon Red vs. Pokémon Blue (due to the same Pokemon game being localized different in NA and EUOC regions) collaboration with Pokemon. North America, Europe and Oceania regions. Occurring alongside other regions' Pokémon Red vs. Pokémon Blue collaboration with Pokemon.
Show No Mercy! vs. Focus on Healing	12 March 2016 to 13 March 2016	Japan region-exclusive. Collaboration with Dragon Quest.
SpongeBob vs. Patrick	23 April 2016 to 24 April 2016	North America, Europe and Oceania regions. Collaboration with SpongeBob SquarePants.
Fancy Party vs. Costume Party	14 May 2016 to 15 May 2016	Global region. Collaboration with Miitomo.
Chocorooms vs. Chococones (2016)	19 June 2016 to 20 June 2016	Japan region. Collaboration with confectionery and pharmaceutical company Meiji.

Splatoon 2

Collaboration event	Date	Notes
Fries vs. McNuggets	9 September 2017 to 10 September 2017	Japan region-exclusive. Collaboration with the McDonalds restaurant chain. In Private Battles, this Splatfest's ink color set is referred to as Fries vs. Nuggets.
Warm Innerwear vs. Warm Outerwear	9 December 2017 to 10 December 2017	Japan region-exclusive. Collaboration with Uniqlo. In Private Battles, this Splatfest's ink color set is referred to as Inner Wear vs. Outer Wear.
The Champion vs. The Challenger	3 February 2018 to 4 February 2018	Japan region-exclusive. Tie-in with the official manga. In Private Battles, this Splatfest's ink color set is referred to as Champion vs. Challenger.
Newest Model vs. Most Popular Model	24 March 2018 to 25 March 2018	Japan region-exclusive. Collaboration with Nike. In Private Battles, this Splatfest's ink color set is referred to as Newest vs. Most Popular.
New Life-Forms vs. Advanced Technology	21 April 2018 to 22 April 2018	Japan region-exclusive. Collaboration with JAMSTEC. In Private Battles, this Splatfest's ink color set is referred to as New Lifeform vs. Future Tech.
Raph vs. Leo Mikey vs. Donnie Raph vs. Donnie	5 May 2018 to 6 May 2018 12 May 2018 to 13 May 2018 19 May 2018 to 20 May 2018	NAOC/EU region. Collaborations with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise in a tournament format consisting of three separate Splatfests. In Private Battles, the Splatfests’ ink color sets are referred to as Ninja Red vs. Ninja Blue and Ninja Orange vs. Ninja Purple, respectively. However, the Raph vs. Donnie ink set is notably absent.
Hello Kitty vs. Cinnamoroll My Melody vs. Pompompurin Hello Kitty vs. My Melody	19 May 2018 to 20 May 2018 26 May 2018 to 27 May 2018 9 June 2018 to 10 June 2018	Japan region-exclusive. Collaborations with Sanrio franchise in a tournament format consisting of three separate Splatfests. The Hello Kitty vs. My Melody ink set is notably absent from Private Battles.
Chocorooms vs. Chococones (2018)	18 August 2018 to 19 August 2018	Japan region-exclusive. Collaboration with confectionery and pharmaceutical company Meiji. In Private Battles, this Splatfest's ink color set is referred to as Joyous Yellow vs. Festive Green.
Pocky Chocolate vs. Pocky Gokuboso	10 November 2018 to 11 November 2018	Japan region-exclusive. Collaboration with Glico, confectioner manufacturer related to Pocky. In Private Battles, this Splatfest's ink color set is referred to as Decadant[sic] Red vs. Tasty White.
Hero vs. Villain	15 December 2018 to 16 December 2018	Global. Collaboration with Super Smash Bros., for the release of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Ce League vs. Pa League	11 May 2019 to 12 May 2019	Japan region-exclusive. Collaboration with Nippon Professional Baseball. In Private Battles, this Splatfest's ink color set is referred to as Field Green vs. Jersey Blue.
Super Mushroom vs. Super Star	15 January 2021 to 17 January 2021	Global (encore). Collaboration with Super Mario for the franchise's 35th Anniversary. This Splatfest's ink color set is notably absent from Private Battles.

Splatoon 3

Collaboration event	Date	Notes
Grass vs. Fire vs. Water	12 November 2022 to 14 November 2022	Global. Collaboration with Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet.
Power vs. Wisdom vs. Courage	6 May 2023 to 8 May 2023	Global. Collaboration with The Legend of Zelda, for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Red Bean Paste vs. Custard vs. Whipped Cream	17 February 2024 to 19 February 2024	Japan region-exclusive. Collaboration with 7-Eleven convenience store chain.
Lightly Salted vs. Consommé vs. Salted Seaweed	23 March 2024 to 25 March 2024	Japan region-exclusive. Collaboration with Calbee.

Other Splatfests with special attributes

The following Splatfests have either been referred to as special in promotional material, or included special mechanics atypical of standard Splatfest events:

Splatoon 2

The moon in Inkopolis Square during Tsubuan vs. Koshian, Retro vs. Modern and Trick vs. Treat

Close-up

Special event	Date	Notes
Squid vs. Octopus	21 July 2018 to 22 July 2018	Splatoon 2's first anniversary Splatfest event Squid vs. Octopus featured many special attributes: Players' characters exclusively matched their respective teams in battle, with Team Octopus players being Octolings whether or not they had already finished Octo Expansion. If they normally played as the opposite species, players would keep the rest of their customization such as gender, eye, and skin color. In these cases, they would swap to that species' default hairstyle; for Inkling girls this was the "haircut" style, for Inkling boys this was the "slick style", for Octoling girls this was the "tentacurl" style and for Octoling boys this was the "punk" style. 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 usually played as an Octoling. Confetti was added to the opening screen and beginning of a match Fireworks were visible in the background of the event's Shifty Station stage Sweet Valley Tentacles.
Tsubuan vs. Koshian (Tsukimi) Retro vs. Modern	23 September 2018 to 24 September 2018 22 September 2018 to 23 September 2018	A moon appeared in the sky above Inkopolis Square during these Splatfests as a reference to the Tsukimi moon viewing festival. A small squid-shaped formation was visible on the upper-right of the moon's surface. This moon returned in Trick vs. Treat.
Knight vs. Wizard	16 March 2019 to 17 March 2019	During the Splatfest players wearing the matching headgear and shoes obtained from the Octoling Girl, Octoling Boy, or Octoling Octopus amiibo would have their Splatfest Tees cosmetically swapped during matches to appear to wear the full amiibo outfits. Erroneously, Hare vs. Tortoise's modified opening screen was enabled during this event.

Splatoon 3

Special event	Date	Notes
Shiver vs. Frye vs. Big Man	9 September 2023 to 11 September 2023	Splatoon 3's first anniversary Splatfest event. It was described as a special Splatfest in promotional material. During the event there was a unique battle intro screen featuring confetti as well as new win and loss theme variants depending on which team the player was fighting for, but no significant cosmetic changes. The likelihood of 10x Battles was doubled during this event to coincide with the introduction of related Splashtag badges based on the members of Deep Cut. Banners themed after each member were released via the Nintendo Switch News app. The announcement of the event coincided with that of two other related events: the future release of Deep Cut amiibo, and a Big Run scheduled to occur the weekend before the Splatfest, the latter of which was directly acknowledged by the characters in an Anarchy Splatcast broadcast as threatening the occurrence of the Splatfest.

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