Nintendo held a Nintendo Direct focused on Splatoon 3 tonight, and they showed off everything from weapons to stages and what modes we’ll be playing when the game releases in September. 

The Deep Cut Trio are your new news hosts in Splatsville, on a program called Anarchy Splatcast, so get used to hearing them and their antics. 

You’ll hear from Deep Cut Trio a lot when something like Splatfests is happening, which are confirmed to be returning. In these, players pick one of three teams based on a specific theme (the first of which is rock, paper, scissors). Players then battle it out in a match with two halves, in the second of which the first place team must defend their lead in a 4v2v2 match. 

All your typical Splat weapons are returning alongside some news one. The Tri-Stinger is a bow that fires in three directions, and the Splatana Wipers send big blasts of ink using centrifugal force. There will also be Special Weapons, which players can unlock after inking enough turf. These include the Tacticool, which is a fridge that drops four cans of stat-boosting drinks for the entire team. 

Turf War is the key gameplay mode in Splatoon 3, where two teams of four battle it out to ink the most turf in three minutes. There are new abilities you can use to win battles now, however, including “Squid Surge”, where players can swim up walls in a blast, and “Squid Roll”, which can counteract being shot by another player’s ink. At launch, there will be twelve stages for Turf War, including the mode exclusive stages Eeltail Alley, Scorch Gorge, Mincemeat Metalworks and Undertow Spillway. Joining them are returning stages like Museum d’Alfonsino, Hammerhead Bridge and Mahi-Mahi Resort. 

Anarchy Battles will return with four separate modes on rotation: Splat Zones, Tower Control, Rainmaker and Clam Blitz. 

Co-op mode Salmon Run returns, where four players work together to battle Salmonids, collect Power Eggs and take on bosses. 

The story mode “Return of the Mammalians” is a great place for newbies to Splatoon 3 to get an understanding of how the game works. You’ll play Agent 3, the latest recruit to the Octarian Army who’s on a mission to uncover some twisty secrets. 

A tabletop card game was revealed out of nowhere, which is the last thing I needed to hear with my Marvel Snap addiction going high as it is currently. Nonetheless, The Tableturf Battle is a new 1-v-1 competitive card game where players ink up different shapes and different cards, charge them up and more. At launch, there will be 150 cards to collect. 

Nintendo covered a bunch of other minor things in the Nintendo Direct, including lobby features and customization. From your Splashtags to being able to choose what’s in your locker and being able to explore the lockers of recently played enemies. Then there’s a tone of customization in what skills your inkling uses and how your inkling looks on and off the battle arenas. 

SplatNet 3 will be part of the Nintendo Switch Online app which will contain battle records and let you order special in-game gear from the SplatNet Gear Shop. 

Those excited to play Splatoon 3 won’t have to wait until September. A free global online Splatoon 3: Splatfest World Premiere Demo will release on August 27th. 

For two years, Nintendo plans to support the game with free updates every three months. X Battle and League Battle are coming in a future update, and there are plans for large-scale paid DLC. 

Splatoon 3 releases on September 9th for Nintendo Switch. You can watch the full Nintendo Direct in the video below, and make sure to tell me in the comments if you’re excited about playing the game.