Nintendo Fans Are Convinced Splatoon 3 Was Just Teased

Never let it be said that fans of Nintendo's Splatoon franchise aren't eagerly awaiting news of a new installment. The video game company recently shared some holiday art featuring Splatoon characters, and while it's incredibly tame and unassuming on its own, folks seem to be convinced that Nintendo has just teased the coming of Splatoon 3 -- which has not yet been announced.

Basically, this all traces back to the official art shared by Nintendo. It started with an image of three out of four of the franchise's main characters celebrating the holidays. Simple enough, right? But then Nintendo had to go and tease that one of them was missing...

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The stars from #Splatoon and #Splatoon2 are staying fresh, even if it’s frosty! But where’s Marina?

A post shared by Nintendo of America (@nintendo) on Dec 23, 2019 at 7:00pm PST

Three Splatoon characters in the frame? Weirdly missing one, despite the fact that both fairs frequently appear together and almost never apart? Yeah, that convinced folks that Nintendo's got something up their sleeves. (The logic goes something like "three characters means third Splatoon," which isn't particularly definitive.)

Earlier today, however, Nintendo posted another piece of official art that shows... actually, that fourth character just happened to be taking a photo of the other three. Totally normal! Completely fine! And yet, there's the chance that the whole Splatoon 3 tease theory isn't false, because who even knows these days.

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Ah, there she is, selfless as always! Merry Squidmas from the #Splatoon2 team! ⛄

A post shared by Nintendo of America (@nintendo) on Dec 24, 2019 at 6:10am PST

Regardless, one thing's for certain: Splatoon franchise fans are thrilled, Nintendo has stirred the pot, and everyone should have a fairly happy holidays. That is, so long as there really is a Splatoon 3 in our collective future.

What do you think? Was this a tease for Splatoon 3, or just totally normal art posted by Nintendo with unintended side effects? Let us know in the comments, or hit me up directly on Twitter at @rollinbishop to talk all things gaming!

Keep reading to see what folks are saying about the possible sequel tease!