What date was Splatoon 3 released?

Splatoon 3 was released on 9 September 2022.

Nintendo launched the third mainline Splatoon game worldwide for the Nintendo Switch on that date. It followed Splatoon 2, released in 2017, and continued the series’ combination of competitive ink battles, character customization, and single-player campaigns. Splatoon 3 introduced the Splatlands and its central city, Splatsville, as well as the idol trio Deep Cut: Shiver, Frye, and Big Man.

The date is sometimes confused with other major Splatoon milestones. The original Splatoon arrived on 28 May 2015, while Splatoon 2 launched on 21 July 2017. The date 22 February 2024 belongs to Side Order, the second wave of Splatoon 3’s paid Expansion Pass, not to the base game.

Splatoon 3’s launch was preceded by a limited Splatfest World Premiere demo on 27–28 August 2022. The full game expanded the series with new weapons, the cooperative Salmon Run Next Wave, the single-player Return of the Mammalians campaign, and the deck-building minigame Tableturf Battle.