Splatoon 3 Splatoween returns with Wizard vs Knight vs Ninja

Splatoon 3 is bringing back Splatoween next month, and this year’s spooky Splatfest asks what you would be in a fantasy world: wizard, knight or ninja.

What is actually going on

Nintendo announced the event’s return on 25 September, with the Splatfest themed around a fantasy-world question and the three classic archetypes as this year’s teams. Splatoween traditionally also brings themed in-game gear and decorations to Splatsville alongside the vote.

The Splatoween Splatfest will run during the weekend of 31 October, fittingly landing on Halloween itself. As with previous Splatfests, players pick a side, battle in Turf War during the event window and earn points for their team.

Splatoween has become one of Splatoon 3’s recurring seasonal events, with the team options changing each year. The 2025 edition ran at the end of October with its own themed trio.

This is the second Splatfest announcement in quick succession for the game, keeping the post-support event calendar active alongside the broader Splatoon universe expansion.

Our opinion

Wizard versus knight versus ninja is a strong theme because it maps cleanly onto how people actually argue about fantasy archetypes — magic, steel or shadow — and Splatoween has always been the Splatfest where the costumes do half the work. Landing the event on Halloween weekend is the obvious right call. The mild disappointment is that the question is a familiar one; after several years of increasingly inventive prompts, a straightforward fantasy trio feels safe. That said, safe is not bad here: expect the turnout to be large, the themed gear to sell the mood, and the wizard side to be insufferable about it afterwards.