And there’s even better news: according to the official Splatoon 3 website, you will also receive save data bonuses. You can transfer save data once per Nintendo Account by launching Splatoon 3 or entering the lobby while connected to the internet. To transfer, and save data from Splatoon 2 must be on the same system with the same user account. If there’s save data from Splatoon 2 on your Switch, part of it can be transferred to Splatoon 3, and transferring the data will net you three Gold Sheldon Licenses that you can exchange for main weapons, regardless of player level. You can also join Anarchy Battles from the beginning of the game, regardless of player level. You will start the game with a higher rank, depending on your rank in Splatoon 2, and get matched against players with similar skill levels from Splatoon 2. On Wednesday, August 10, Nintendo hosted a Splatoon 3-specific Nintendo Direct, where it provided all sorts of information on the game. The stream discussed the new Story Mode where you will discover the secrets of Alterna, the Fuzzy Ooze, and how it connects to the title’s theme. As Agent 3, the latest recruit of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, you will battle with the Octarian Army. You will adventure along with your Smallfry buddy to explore many stages, each one full of twists and turns. The game will feature improved Turf War gameplay, and the return of the Salmon Run mode which allows up to four players to work together and collect Power Eggs from the Salmonids. This iteration of Salmon Run also has Boss Salmonids to contend with along with Cohozuna, a new King Salmonid super-giant Salmonid. You can expect new and returning Battle Stages with a total of 12 stages awaiting you at launch with more stages coming via free post-launch updates. Splatfests also return, and there’s a new mode called Tableturf Battle which is a 1-v-1 competitive card battle spinoff of Turf War with over 150 cards to collect. There are also new Splatlands-specific weapons such as the bow-like Tri-Stringer which can fire in three directions simultaneously and the Splatana Wiper which sends blades of ink flying, and all main weapon types from previous Splatoon games will be available from the start. New Special Weapons include the Tacticooler, the Wave Breaker, and the Reefslider. Some familiar special weapons from the Splatoon series, like the Tenta Missiles, Inkjet, Ink Storm, Ultra Stamp, and Booyah Bomb, will make their return. New amiibo are also incoming and will arrive this holiday. There will be separate amiibo figures for Inkling, Octoling, and Smallfry for $15.99 each. Plus, some Splatoon 2 amiibo figures will be relaunching soon, including the Callie & Marie 2-Pack and the Pearl & Marina 2-Pack for $24.99 each. After the game launches, an in-game season catalog will be distributed for free every three months for two years. Additional weapons will also be included around the same time as each in-game catalog. In addition, X Battle and League Battle are planned for future updates. X Battle is unlocked after attaining an extremely high rank in Anarchy Battle. In League Battle, players can compete every two hours in teams based on their Anarchy Battle results. Large-scale paid DLC will come in the future, and Nintendo will share additional details in the future . Splatoon will be released at retail, through the eShop on Nintendo Switch, and in the My Nintendo Store on September 9. Until September 30, if you have pre-ordered or purchased the game from the Nintendo eShop or My Nintendo Store can earn double My Nintendo Gold Points. In addition, on August 26, a special edition Splatoon 3 themed Nintendo Switch – OLED Model system will be available in stores for the suggested retail price of $359.99.
