is a

third-person shooter Third-person shooter (TPS) is a subgenre of 3D shooter games in which the gameplay consists primarily of shooting. It is closely related to first-person shooters, but with the player character visible on-screen during play. While 2D shoot 'em ...

video game franchise created by

Hisashi Nogami is a Japanese video game designer, director, and Video game producer, producer at Nintendo. He is best known as a creator of the ''Animal Crossing'' and ''Splatoon'' franchises. Biography Nogami was born in Yawata, Kyoto Prefecture in 1971. H ...

and Shintaro Sato and developed and owned by

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

. Set in the far

future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ex ...

on a

post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction are genres of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astronom ...

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

that has been repopulated with

evolved Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

marine life Marine life, sea life or ocean life is the collective ecological communities that encompass all aquatic animals, aquatic plant, plants, algae, marine fungi, fungi, marine protists, protists, single-celled marine microorganisms, microorganisms ...

, the series centers around a pair of

humanoid A humanoid (; from English ''human'' and '' -oid'' "resembling") is a non-human entity with human form or characteristics. By the 20th century, the term came to describe fossils which were morphologically similar, but not identical, to those of ...

races that evolved from

cephalopod A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan Taxonomic rank, class Cephalopoda (Greek language, Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral symm ...

s known as Inklings and Octolings — based on

squids A squid (: squid) is a mollusc with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight arms, and two tentacles in the orders Myopsida, Oegopsida, and Bathyteuthida (though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also called ''squi ...

and

octopuses An octopus (: octopuses or octopodes) is a soft-bodied, eight-limbed Mollusca, mollusc of the order (biology), order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, ...

respectively — which can transform between humanoid and cephalopodic forms at will. They frequently engage in turf war battles with each other and use a variety of weapons that produce and shoot ink while in their humanoid forms or swim through and hide in solid surfaces covered in their own ink while in their cephalopodic forms. The first game in the series, ''

Splatoon is a third-person shooter video game franchise created by Hisashi Nogami and Shintaro Sato and developed and owned by Nintendo. Set in the far future on a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic Earth that has been repopulat ...

'', was released for the

Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. The W ...

on 28 May 2015. A sequel, '' Splatoon 2'', was released for the

Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...

on 21 July 2017, followed by an expansion pack, '' Octo Expansion'', on 13 June 2018. A third game, ''

Splatoon 3 is a 2022 third-person shooter video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the third game in the ''Splatoon'' series and the sequel to ''Splatoon 2''. Like its predecessors in the ''Splatoon'' series, the gam ...

'', was released on 9 September 2022, followed by an expansion pack/DLC, '' Side Order'', on 22 February 2024. The series has received positive reviews for its style, gameplay mechanics and soundtrack, with the first two games in the series having been nominated and awarded several year-end accolades from various gaming publications. The series has sold over 30 million copies. A spin-off game titled ''Splatoon Raiders'' was announced on 10 June 2025, as an exclusive for the

Nintendo Switch 2 The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo, released in most regions on June5, 2025. Like the original Nintendo Switch, Switch, it can be used as a Handheld game console, handheld, as a Tablet computer, tablet, or connected via ...

. ''Splatoon'' has spawned numerous collaborations with third-party companies and established its own

esports Esports (), short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, played individually or as teams. ...

tournament circuit in 2018. It has spawned a manga series as well as holographic music concerts, primarily in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Gameplay

The Splatoon series are third person shooters with a focus on competitive online multiplayer gameplay. Players select from a range of

water guns A water gun (or water pistol, water blaster, or squirt gun) is a type of toy gun designed to shoot jet (fluid), jets of water. Similar to water balloons, the primary purpose of the toy is to soak another person in a recreational game such as a w ...

and oversized painting equipment that they use to spread their ink across the floors and walls of the gameplay area and to damage enemies. During gameplay players can freely alternate between a humanoid "inkling" form and a "squid" form with the press of a button. While in human form they can use their weapons to spread ink across surfaces and damage enemy players. While in squid form, players can swim through their own team's ink and pass under and around metal fences and meshes, as well as move vertically up ink spread over walls. Players are discouraged from standing in ink pools that are not their own team's color with harsh movement penalties. Additionally, players can only replenish their ammunition by standing or swimming in their own team's ink.

Turf War

"Turf War" is the main gameplay mode in the Splatoon franchise. Two teams of four players start on either side of a symmetrical map and compete to spread as much of their team's ink across as much of the floor space of the map as possible before the match ends. While players are not awarded points for doing so, it is possible to kill enemy players, referred to as "splatting", to temporarily remove them from the game so that they cannot contest the spread of ink. This is further encouraged by most weapons being very powerful but with extremely limited range, resulting in more frantic player vs player engagements.

Splatfests

"Splatfests" are special and recurring in-game festival events that take place in the games, where players are asked a question and pick a team based on the answer that they chose. For example, players could be asked to pick between mayonnaise or ketchup, or if they prefer using a fork or a spoon. Similarly to the first game, ''Splatoon 2'' features Splatfest events that include crossovers with other brands, both from other Nintendo properties such as '' Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' and ''

Super Mario (also known as and is a platform game series created by Nintendo starring their mascot, Mario. It is the central series of the greater Mario (franchise), ''Mario'' franchise. At least one ''Super Mario'' game has been released for every ma ...

'', and third-party franchises including

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

Uniqlo ( ; ) is a Japanese casual wear designer and retailer. The company is a subsidiary of Fast Retailing, Fast Retailing Co., Ltd. Clare Waight Keller is the creative director. History Men's Shop OS was founded in Ube, Yamaguchi. It was rebrand ...

, Nike,

Sanrio is a Japanese entertainment company. It designs, licenses, and manufactures products focusing on the ''kawaii'' ("cute") segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts, and Fashion accessory, a ...

, Meiji, Pocky, and NPB. For ''Splatoon 3'', there are three sides to choose from and just like in the first two games, crossover Splatfest events are included with other Nintendo franchises such as ''

Pokémon is a Japanese media franchise consisting of List of Pokémon video games, video games, Pokémon (TV series), animated series and List of Pokémon films, films, Pokémon Trading Card Game, a trading card game, and other related media. The fran ...

'' and ''

The Legend of Zelda is a media franchise, video game series created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo; some portable installments and re-releases have been outsourced to Flags ...

''. Players then play a series of turf war matches and contribute scores to the side they picked. A scoring system decides the winning side based on the overall score of those who played. Although all Splatfests in ''Splatoon 2'' ended in July 2019, themes have been repeated since then, and a Splatfest with a unique theme, "Super Mushroom vs. Super Star", happened from 15 to 17 January 2021 in celebration of the Super Mario 35th Anniversary. Due to the polarizing nature of the choices offered during Splatfests, the themes themselves tend to be the subject of media attention. The themes range from preference

questionnaire A questionnaire is a research instrument that consists of a set of questions (or other types of prompts) for the purpose of gathering information from respondents through survey or statistical study. A research questionnaire is typically a mix of ...

s (e.g. cats vs. dogs, arts vs. sciences), to paradoxes (e.g.

chicken or the egg The chicken or the egg causality dilemma is commonly stated as the question, "which came first: the chicken or the egg?" The dilemma stems from the observation that all chickens hatch from eggs and all chicken eggs are laid by chickens. "Chicke ...

), or sometimes be part of a real-life corporate partnership or sponsorship with Nintendo (such as a ''

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Tomy, Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons, two Extraterrestrials in fiction, alien robot fac ...

''-themed Splatfest with

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment holding company founded on December 6, 1923 by Henry, Hillel and Herma ...

, the ''

'' and ''

SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' is an American animated television series, animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It first aired as a sneak peek after the 1999 Kids' C ...

''-themed ones with

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

, or one with

). In most Splatfests, the outcome tends to only affect the player's level of in-game reward at the end of the event and typically have no impact on the overall playability of the game. However, the exception to the last Splatfest of each game, which has marked the end of developer support for the game. It was revealed that the outcome of the last Splatfest in ''Splatoon'' affected the story mode of ''Splatoon 2'', in which the losing

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

Callie became an

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain. This was later confirmed by a developer after ''Splatoon 3'''s theme and setting seemed to be based on the winner of ''Splatoon 2'''s final Splatfest, "Chaos vs. Order".

Esports

Due to the availability of competitive game modes in ''Splatoon'', competitive

tournaments with sponsored prizing have been held as early as 2016 in Japan. With the release of ''Splatoon 2'', Nintendo established the ''Splatoon 2 World Championships'' and began hosting competitive tournaments in 2018. Teams of four compete in a series of online qualifiers or live tournaments to earn invitations to play at the World Championships, which are played at the

Nintendo World Championships The Nintendo World Championships (NWC) is a nationwide Electronic sports, video game competition series, organized by Nintendo of America at no particular interval. The first Nintendo World Championships was in 1990, touring 29 American cities ...

alongside other Nintendo games such as '' Super Smash Bros. Ultimate''. The event is typically held during Nintendo's E3 events and livestreamed.

Setting

Inklings

Inklings are a fictional species of terrestrial squid and are the primary playable characters. The

player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional Character (arts), character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters tha ...

s of ''Splatoon'' were originally anthropomorphic rabbits with the ability to burrow through virtually any solid surface so long as it was covered in ink. This was considered due to the game's area control-centric gameplay and the fact that rabbits are naturally territorial animals. While the team liked the idea, it was objected to by others around the company, who felt that there was a clash between the characters' appearances and the ink-based gameplay. The designers then came up with the idea for squid-like Inklings that were able to hide and swim in ink. When designing the Inklings the designers centered around it being female at first, which they stated was because there were not many other female leads in Nintendo games at the time. The Inklings were designed to be teenagers since the developers wanted to give the image of a strong, rebelling character, while having the attitude of being "cool". Inklings can switch between humanoid and squid forms. As humanoids, they are able to wield weapons. As squids, they are able to hide in and swim through ink. The Inklings' aesthetic design have received a positive critical reception from multiple video game publications following the release of the first ''Splatoon'', and have since become a popular subject for

cosplay Cosplay, a blend word of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and Fashion accessory, fashion accessories to represent a specific Character (arts), character. Cosplayers often i ...

activities. The integration of the Inklings' physiological characteristics into the gameplay mechanics of the ''Splatoon'' series have been praised, as it allowed players to explore a unique tactical concept. ''Polygon'' staff in particular ranked two notable Inkling characters, the " Squid Sisters" Callie and Marie, among the 70 best video game characters of the 2010s decade; they were described as an example of how Nintendo elevated "anthropomorphized squids and made them into pop sensations". A seemingly-intentional decision to remove gendered language from player character customization in ''

s English localization was praised by some American publications.

Development

'' was developed for the

Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development commonly abbreviated as Nintendo EAD and formerly known as Nintendo Research & Development No.4 Department (abbreviated as Nintendo R&D4), was the largest software development division within the Japanese video game company Nintendo. It was pr ...

. It originally consisted of a four-versus-four ink-based territory control game set in a featureless arena. The game was subsequently developed to incorporate

squid A squid (: squid) is a mollusc with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight cephalopod limb, arms, and two tentacles in the orders Myopsida, Oegopsida, and Bathyteuthida (though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also ...

-like creatures, now called Inklings, which could switch between humanoid and squid forms in order to be able to hold weapons as a humanoid, while being able to hide or swim through ink as a squid. In 2014, ''Splatoon'' was revealed during a

Nintendo Direct Nintendo Direct is a series of online presentations or live shows produced by Nintendo, where information regarding the company's upcoming content or franchises is presented, such as information about games and consoles. The presentations began ...

video presentation at E3 2014, and a playable demo version was made available on the show floor. Subsequently, a time-limited

multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...

demo, the "Global Testfire", was made available on 8, 9 and 23 May 2015. The game was seen as a surprising reveal as Nintendo unveiled a new IP during the underperformance of the Wii U. The full game was released globally between 28 and 30 May 2015 and included a

single-player A single-player video game is a video game where input from only one player is expected throughout the gameplay. Video games in general can feature several game modes, including single-player modes designed to be played by a single player in add ...

story campaign mode as well as several online multiplayer modes. '' Splatoon 2'' was developed by Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development for the

and was announced in January 2017. It takes place approximately two years after the events of the final Splatfest in the first game, an in-game festival event where players voted for one of the two

s, the Squid Sisters, and fought it out by playing a series of turf war matches. It was later revealed that the results of the Splatfest directly influenced the story of ''Splatoon 2''. ''Splatoon 2'' features a redesigned user interface due to the lack of the Wii U

GamePad A gamepad is a type of video game controller held in two hands, where the fingers (especially thumbs) are used to provide input. They are typically the main input device for video game consoles. Features Some common additions to the standar ...

's touch screen, and includes new maps, weapons and abilities. A new

player versus environment Player versus environment (PvE, also known as player versus monster (PvM) and commonly misinterpreted as player versus entity) is a term used for both single player and online games, particularly MMORPGs, CORPGs, MUDs, other online role-playing ...

mode known as "Salmon Run" was introduced along with a new competitive multiplayer mode called "Clam Blitz" added in December 2017. In March 2017, a "''Splatoon 2'' Global Testfire" event was made available. A second demo which featured the in-game festival Splatfest was released on 15 July 2017. The full game was subsequently released on 21 July 2017. ''SplatNet 2'', a service contained within the

Nintendo Switch Online Nintendo Switch Online (NSO) is an online subscription service operated by Nintendo for its video game consoles, the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. The service is Nintendo's third-generation online service after Nintendo Wi-Fi Connect ...

mobile app was released which allows players to view their in-game statistics, earn digital wallpapers by completing challenges, and communicate with other players through voice chat. During a Nintendo Direct in March 2018, Nintendo announced '' Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion'', a paid

downloadable content content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can be added for no extra cost or as a form of video game monetization, enabling the publisher to gain ad ...

(DLC) expansion, which features a new single-player campaign and a new playable race of

known as Octolings. The DLC was made available globally on 13 June 2018. On 22 April 2022, the same day as the ''Splatoon 3'' release date trailer, the DLC was added as a benefit to members of the Switch Online Expansion Pass. ''

'' was announced in a

on 17 February 2021, now with three featured idols. It was released on 9 September 2022, as confirmed by a trailer on 22 April 2022 and was being developed by Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development. ''Splatoon 3'' takes place about five years after ''Splatoon 2'' ended, and, using the corrupt CEO of Grizzco, the ''Splatoon 3'' story mode differs from any of the other games in the series. The game features new maps, weapons, abilities, and movement options, along with a new mode based on

card game A card game is any game that uses playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, whether the cards are of a traditional design or specifically created for the game (proprietary). Countless card games exist, including famil ...

s, known as "Tableturf Battle". An early-access demo titled "''Splatoon 3'': Splatfest World Premiere" was held on 27 August 2022 with a

rock-paper-scissors Rock, Paper, Scissors (also known by several other names and word orders) is an intransitive hand game, usually played between two people, in which each player simultaneously forms one of three shapes with an outstretched hand. These shapes a ...

Splatfest theme. In addition, the Nintendo Switch Online app includes ''SplatNet 3'' with in-game stats, voice chat, and other features. In the 14 September 2023 Nintendo Direct, the paid DLC '' Splatoon 3: Side Order'' was announced, featuring a new single-player campaign designed to be replayable which was released on 22 February 2024.

Reception

Games in the ''Splatoon'' series have been generally well-received, and its unique gameplay has been credited as a successful reinvention of the

genre. The first two games in the series have been nominated and won numerous awards from various gaming publications and organizations. ''Splatoon'' won Best Shooter and Best Multiplayer at The Game Awards 2015, and was nominated for awards in Game Innovation, Multiplayer and Original Property at the 12th British Academy Games Awards. It received the award for Best Family Game and Best Nintendo Game at the 33rd Golden Joystick Awards The Japan Game Awards labeled it as Game of the Year for 2015 as did the British Academy Children's Awards. ''Splatoon 2'' was nominated for Best Family Game and Best Multiplayer at The Game Awards 2017, as well as an award in Multiplayer at the 14th British Academy Games Awards. It was nominated for Best Multiplayer Game and Nintendo Game of the Year at the 35th Golden Joystick Awards. The game received an Excellence Reward for Game Design at CEDEC 2018. ''Splatoon 3'' won Best Multiplayer Game at The Game Awards 2022, along with a nomination for Best Family Game. It also received a nomination for the Central Park Children's Zoo Award for Best Kids Game at the

New York Game Awards The New York Game Awards is an annual award show honoring video games by nonprofit New York Videogame Critics Circle (NYVGCC). The first awards were held in 2012, honoring previous year's contributions to the video game industry and showcases ...

Legacy

Characters from ''Splatoon'' such as the Inklings have appeared in other games created by Nintendo, such as '' Super Mario Maker'' on the Wii U and ''

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a 2014 kart racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. It retains the gameplay of previous ''Mario Kart'' games, with players controlling a ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' character in races around tracks. Tracks are theme ...

'' and '' Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' on the Nintendo Switch. ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' additionally features a playable stage, Moray Towers, 26 music tracks, and an Assist Trophy based on the Squid Sisters. A crossover event between ''Splatoon 2'' and '' Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp'' occurred in September 2018. In July 2019, a ''Splatoon 2'' theme was made available in '' Tetris 99'' to commemorate ''Splatoon 2''s "Final Fest" Splatfest on 18 July 2019. The NES Zapper, which appears in all three games as a usable weapon, has become a popular collectible item following its inclusion.

Water gun A water gun (or water pistol, water blaster, or squirt gun) is a type of toy gun designed to shoot jets of water. Similar to water balloons, the primary purpose of the toy is to soak another person in a recreational game such as a water figh ...

s modeled after the weapons that appear in the games have been sold as toys. NPR reported on how ''Splatoon'' was different from most other shooters in the genre and has created a more welcoming community than other shooters, due to the flexibility of its gameplay, Nintendo's approach to player communication, and the more casual nature of the game compared to other shooters. The more welcoming nature of ''Splatoon'''s playerbase, and its including a large number of

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

people, was analyzed in ''

Xtra Magazine ''Xtra Magazine'' (formerly ''DailyXtra'' and ''Xtra!'') is an LGBTQ-focused digital publication and former print newspaper published by Pink Triangle Press in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The publication is a continuation of the company's former p ...

'', where Jade King suggested the large queer playerbase of ''Splatoon'' was a result of the series' emphasis on individuality, rebellion, self-expression and style, the lack of gender-restricted styles and customization, as well as the lack of a voice chat creating a more welcoming environment.

In other media

Print media

Between January 2016 and March 2017, two webcomic series based on ''Splatoon'' appeared in

Enterbrain , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing founded on January 30, 1987, as . Magazines published by Enterbrain are generally focused on video games and computer entertainment as well as video game and strate ...

's '' Weekly Famitsu'' magazine: ''Honobono Ika 4koma'' illustrated by Kino Takahashi, and ''Play Manga'' by various

doujin In Japan, a is a group of people who share an interest, activity, or hobby. The word is sometimes translated into English as "clique", "fandom", "coterie", "society", or "circle" (as in "sewing circle"). Self-published creative works produ ...

writers. The comics were published by

Kadokawa Future Publishing is the publishing arm of Kadokawa Corporation, publishing manga, novels, light novels, magazines, tabletop role-playing games and other type of content with eight different publishing brand companies that previously merged with it. The company u ...

on 15 June 2017. A ''Splatoon'' manga series illustrated by Sankichi Hinodeya began serialization in

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...

's ''

CoroCoro Comic is a Japanese children's manga magazine published by Shogakukan. It was established in 1977 and several of its properties, like ''Doraemon'' and the ''Pokémon'' series of games, have gone on to be cultural phenomena in Japan. The name comes fr ...

'' magazine in February 2016, following a one-shot published in ''CoroCoro'' in May 2015. The licensing rights to publish the manga in North America was later acquired by

Viz Media Viz Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. The company was founded in 1986 as Viz, ...

in 2017. In July 2017, a motion comic adaptation of the manga was announced and then released on ''CoroCoro'' YouTube channel the following month. As of February 2018, the manga has over 800,000 copies in print and the series is currently ongoing. In April 2017, a manga series illustrated by titled ''Splatoon: Squid Kids Comedy Show'' was published in ''

Bessatsu CoroCoro Comic is a Japanese children's manga magazine published by Shogakukan. It was established in 1977 and several of its properties, like ''Doraemon'' and the ''Pokémon'' series of games, have gone on to be cultural phenomena in Japan. The name comes fr ...

''. It was also later acquired by Viz Media, who translated and published the series in North America.

Music

The music of ''Splatoon'' is composed by Toru Minegishi, Shiho Fujii, and Ryo Nagamatsu, with Toshiyuki Sudo, Yumi Takahashi and Sayako Doi also composing for the third installment. In the universe of ''Splatoon'', the game's protagonists, the Squid Sisters, Off The Hook, and Deep Cut, are fictional

popstar A pop icon is a celebrity, character, or object whose exposure in popular culture is regarded as constituting a defining characteristic of a given society or era. The usage of the term is largely subjective since there are no definitively object ...

s which create and perform the music as heard within the games. Other music heard in the game's singleplayer and multiplayer modes and idle areas are composed by other in-universe musicians. In an 'Ask the Developers' feature from Nintendo, series creator Hisashi Nogami, composer Toru Minegishi, and graphic artist Seita Inoue explained the decision to establish the music of ''Splatoon'' as being created by in-universe artists as a way to add to the depth of the game's world and depict the passage of time between each game. In the interview, Inoue described that "...the music can account for not only bands existing in this world, but also things like their history, the relationship between their members and how their approaches to life changed over time, it would add depth to the Inkling world." A series of real-life virtual concerts featuring holograms of the game's protagonists have been held at various locations. The music of ''Splatoon'' has been described as eclectic and experimental. Much of the music incorporates genres such as pop,

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

pop-punk Pop-punk (also punk-pop, alternatively spelled without the hyphen) is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop music, pop. It is defined by its fast-paced, energetic tempos, and emphasis on classic pop s ...

, and

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

. Specific songs in the series include inspiration from genres such as

J-pop J-pop (often stylized in all caps; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in trad ...

, ska, orchestral,

dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate stylistic ch ...

Celtic rock Celtic rock is a genre of folk rock, as well as a form of Celtic fusion which incorporates Celtic music, instrumentation and themes into a rock music context. It has been prolific since the early 1970s and can be seen as a key foundation of the ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...

, and

punk jazz Punk jazz is a genre of music that combines elements of jazz, especially improvisation, with the instrumentation and performance style of punk rock. The term was first used to describe James Chance and the Contortions' 1979 album '' Buy''. Pun ...

; music in ''Splatoon 3'' also incorporates elements of

world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

, specifically from classical

Japanese music In Japan, music includes a wide array of distinct genres, both traditional and modern.ref> The word for "music" in Japanese language, Japanese is 音楽 (''ongaku''), combining the kanji 音 ''on'' (sound) with the kanji 楽 ''gaku'' (music, comf ...

Carnatic music Carnatic music (known as or in the Dravidian languages) is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and southern Odisha. It is o ...

samba Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...

, and

funk carioca Funk carioca (), also known as baile funk and Brazilian funk, or even simply funk, is a Brazilian hip hop music, hip hop-influenced music genre from Rio de Janeiro, taking influences from musical styles such as Miami bass and Freestyle music, f ...

, due to the Japanese, Indian, and Brazilian influences from the members of Deep Cut. In 2016, a

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often, concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific ...

known as "Squid Sisters Live" was held commemorating the sale of 1 million copies of ''Splatoon''. The concerts have taken place at Niconico Tokaigi, Chokaigi and Niconico Cho Party in Japan, and the

Japan Expo Japan Expo is a convention on Japanese popular culture – the largest of its kind outside Japan – taking place in Paris, France, although it has branched out into a partnership festival – Comic-Con Paris, Kultima – and expanded to inclu ...

in Paris. Similarly, concert tours featuring ''Splatoon 2''s Off the Hook was held months after the game's release since 2018. Recordings from the concerts have been made into albums. Deep Cut, introduced in ''Splatoon 3'', performed live for the first time in Japan on 9 October 2022, one month following the game's release. An official soundtrack, ''Splatune'', was released by

in Japan on 21 October 2015. The soundtrack to the sequel, ''Splatune 2'', and another for the Octo Expansion, ''Octotune'', released on 29 November 2017 and 18 July 2018 respectively. The soundtrack for the third installment, ''Splatune 3'', and another for Side Order, ''Ordertune'', were released on 26 April 2023 and 11 December 2024 respectively. The soundtrack of the ''Splatoon'' series has been widely acclaimed by both critics and fans alike. Ben Johnson in Pocket Tactics favorably compared the music of ''Splatoon'' to that of

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band created by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett in London, England in 1998. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (gui ...

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. They achieved popularity in the late 1990s as part of the French house movement, combining house music, funk, disco, tech ...

, and

Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), known professionally as Aphex Twin, is a British musician, composer and DJ active in electronic music since 1988. His idiosyncratic work has drawn on many styles, including techno, ambient music, ambi ...

for its experimental nature, as well as to the soundtrack of ''

Jet Set Radio (originally released in North America as ''Jet Grind Radio'') is a 2000 action game developed by Smilebit and published by Sega for the Dreamcast. The player controls a member of a youth gang, the GG's, as they use inline skates to traverse ...

'', and praised the music as eclectic, avant-garde, experimental, and as "genre fusion to the max, in the strangest way possible". Johnson further praised the series' incorporation of the soundtrack with the game as a whole, saying "The games are set in dense cities, with a hyper fixation on fashion and music... As the world itself is so focused on music, it can't be mere background noise."

Notes

References

External links

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