Splatoon 3 Expansion Pass Bringing Back Classic Wii U Location
During today's Nintendo Direct presentation, a new Expansion Pass was revealed for Splatoon 3. The Expansion Pass will be released in two waves, with the first one slated to arrive in Spring. Interestingly enough, the first wave will take a look back to the past, allowing players a chance to return to Inkopolis, the location from the original Splatoon on Wii U! The new hub location doesn't seem to function any differently from Splatsville, and players can do everything they can in the current hub. However, it does give players a chance to go back to the original location, should they so choose. Players can also see performances by Callie and Marie there during Splatfests!
A trailer for the Expansion Pass can be found in the Tweet embedded below. Readers interested in purchasing the Expansion Pass can do so right here. It retails for $24.99.
The #Splatoon3: Expansion Pass is coming! For the 1st Wave, relive a functional version of Inkopolis from the original Splatoon game!
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) February 8, 2023
And for Wave 2, get ready for Side Order, an all-new single player campaign! #NintendoDirect pic.twitter.com/llFFVO4Wae
While the first wave will focus on the past of Splatoon, the second will focus on new content. Like Splatoon 2's Octo Expansion, players will gain access to a new single-player campaign with the expansion for Splatoon 3. This time around, players will gain access to a story called Side Order. No details were revealed for Side Order, but it seems to center around a monochromatic world. How that will factor into the story remains to be seen, but it looks very interesting! Unfortunately, there is no launch window for Side Order just yet, other than "in the future."
After all these years, the original Splatoon still holds a special place in the hearts of many gamers. The Wii U console is widely considered one of Nintendo's biggest failures, as it struggled to find a large userbase. Despite this, Splatoon was one of the system's lone success stories, selling nearly 5 million copies; considering the Wii U sold less than 14 million units in its lifetime, that's pretty impressive! Splatoon 3 has already doubled the number of copies Splatoon sold, so it stands to reason that a lot of the game's current players have yet to experience Inkpolis, or the songs of the Squid Sisters. This Expansion Pass could help rectify that!
Are you a fan of Splatoon 3? Are you looking forward to the Expansion Pass? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter and on Hive at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!