Splatoon 3fans have spent months waiting with bated breath for a release date, and now it’s finally here. Nintendo surprised fans with a trailer showing off a classic round of Turf War, giving fans a great look at PvP, before announcing a September 2022 release date for the game.Splatoon 3will arrive later in the summer than fans might have hoped, but it’s still great to have the launch nailed down. The release date and gunplay isn’t all thatSplatoon 3’s new trailer hinted at, though. Players may have noticed the player characters wearing a variety of nameplates in the Turf War’s finishing screens.
Nameplates are a common customization feature in PvP games that gives players some extra in-game personality, and Nintendo has certainly shown some interest in them, sinceNintendo Switch Sports' online multiplayer has its own nameplate system. Still,thisSplatoon 3featureis great news, since hopefully it meansSplatoon 3will broaden character customization in other ways. Fans have already seen some solid new options in the character creator ofSplatoon 3,but Nintendo could take customization in some entirely new directions. Nothing is confirmed yet, but nameplates could be the gateway to other malleable details.
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Possible Customization in Splatoon 3
If there’sany department ofSplatoonthat should gain customization, it’s the weapons.Splatoonhas dabbled lightly in customization inSplatoon 2’s story mode, where the Ammo Knights Enhancifier could upgrade the player’s weapons and change their appearance in the process, but the Enhancifier’s purpose prioritized function over form.Splatoon 3would be a great opportunity to let fans tweak the appearance of their weapons, adding decorative attachments and special color schemes to their favorite gear.Splatoon’s third-person shooting may not let fans get a close-up look at their gear, but it would still help players stand out inSplatoon 3victory screens.
In a similar vein,Splatoon 3would be a great opportunity to add a range of clothing customization options to the franchise. Players have had some mechanical control over their character’s gear thanks to ability slots, butSplatoon 3ought to give players means to fully customize the appearance of their characters' clothes. Nintendo has created clothing customization before;theAnimal Crossingfranchisehas famously featured this for quite some time.Splatoon’s colorful, highly distinct aesthetic is the perfect source of inspiration for a highly detailed clothing customization system, allowing players to design their own clothes from scratch usingSplatoon-themed elements.
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Splatoon’s Customization Progress
None of these features are confirmed, of course, but even if Nintendo announces nothing like these features,Splatoon 3has already made major leaps forward in terms of customization. Nameplates are a fun addition to multiplayer, whilethe removal of gender lines fromSplatoon’s character creatorallows fans more flexibility and freedom to express themselves. Hopefully theseSplatoon 3improvements will become the new standard of the franchise while signalling a permanent steady progressing towards more and more detailed character creators as theSplatoonseries goes on.
Still, it would be nice to seeSplatoonadd customization systems in entirely new departments from the previous games. Innovating in the character creator is great, but wholly new customization departments would be even more meaningful. Even ifSplatoon 3doesn’t launch with weapon or clothing customization, fans may still see such features arrive someday. Nintendo is very enthusiastic about DLC nowadays, meaning it could very well decide to add other customization tools in aSplatoon 3expansion. After all,Splatoon 2’sOcto Expansiongave players the power to play as Octolings, so it wouldn’t be so strange if anotherSplatoonDLC added player options. Maybe Nintendo will shed more light on player options inSplatoon 3over the summer.
Splatoon 3releases Jul 04, 2025 for Nintendo Switch.
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