Splatoon 3 Fighting Style Splatfest: Start Time, Teams and Rewards Explained
Splatoon 3 is midway through a 48-hour Splatfest built entirely around its upcoming spin-off, Splatoon Raiders. Nintendo’s Splatoon North America account confirmed the crossover event running July 10 through July 12, asking players to pick a side in the question “A new Splatoon Raiders Collaboration Splatfest will take place in the Splatoon 3 game on July 10 through July 12… This special Splatfest asks: What’s your fighting style? Speed, Power or Tactics?”
Fighting Style Splatfest Runs July 10-12 PT, Tied to Splatoon Raiders’ Tank Classes
Nintendo’s own in-game events listing pins the window at July 10, 2026, 5:00 p.m. PT – July 12, 2026, 5:00 p.m. PT, giving Turf War and Ranked regulars a clean two-day stretch to grind out matches. Shacknews independently confirmed the same 48-hour span, noting the event “Splatoon 3 is hosting a Fighting Style Splatfest, inspired by the new Tank mechanic in Splatoon Raiders… players will need to choose which would be their preferred fighting style: Speed, Power, or Tactics.”
The theme borrows directly from Splatoon Raiders’ upcoming Tank system rather than a typical Splatfest food-or-flavour poll. Siliconera reported that in Raiders itself, “the Splatoon 3 Splatoon Raiders Splatfest asks what type of ink tank and fighting approach we’d take in the spin-off. In that title, you can pick speed, power, or tactical tanks that affect the way you play and gadgets you equip” when hunting treasure and fighting Salmonids.
NZ and Australia Times for the 48-Hour Event
Converting Nintendo’s 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time start puts the kickoff at 00:00 UTC on July 11, which lands at midday on July 11 in New Zealand (NZST) and mid-morning the same day on Australia’s eastern seaboard (AEST). The event closes out at the equivalent midday July 13 NZST and mid-morning AEST, since the whole window runs a flat 48 hours from the Pacific start. Nintendo Life’s regional breakdown, aimed at North American and European players, lists the launch as “North America: 5pm (Fri) PDT / 6pm (Fri) MDT / 7pm (Fri) CDT / 8pm (Fri) EDT”, which lines up with the same UTC conversion Kiwi and Aussie players will want to use for their own local clocks.
Team Speed, Power and Tactics Match Deep Cut’s Shiver, Frye and Big Man
Nintendo has folded its Deep Cut idol trio into the vote, giving each Splatfest team a familiar face. According to Siliconera’s breakdown, “If you choose Speed, you side with Shiver. Selecting Power puts you on Frye’s team. Going with Tactics means you’re with Big Man.” The outlet also noted Nintendo shared official art showing the members of Deep Cut in their outfits from Splatoon Raiders to promote the event.
The timing is no coincidence. Splatoon Raiders itself launches on Nintendo Switch 2 shortly after the Splatfest wraps, with Siliconera confirming Splatoon Raiders will come to the Switch 2 on July 23, 2026. That gives Nintendo roughly a fortnight to funnel its existing Splatoon 3 community toward the new spin-off before it hits shelves and the eShop.
How Clout, Votes and Tricolor Battles Decide the Winner
Joining a team follows the usual Splatsville ritual: head to the plaza, select a side on the big screen, and jump into multiplayer wearing your new team tee. Shacknews explained that “After making your selection, you will receive a t-shirt representing your team. This shirt can earn skills, which you can reset on the cheap. This is a great way to farm ability chunks.” That shirt is temporary, though — Shacknews warned “The t-shirt will be removed from your inventory when the Splatfest event ends”, so any ability-chunk farming needs to happen before the July 12/13 cutoff.
Final placement isn’t decided by the pre-event vote alone. Shacknews detailed the scoring formula as “Votes, Clout – Open, Clout – Pro, and Tricolor Battle”, with Catalog progress feeding directly into that Clout total, since “More Catalog levels means more Conch Shells are earned, which in turn means more Clout.” Inkipedia’s event page adds that the Tricolor Turf War stages for this specific Splatfest are set as Eeltail Alley and Mahi-Mahi Resort, and that results will be announced in-game on 14 July 2026 at 02:00 UTC.
Platinum Points, Icons and Ability Chunk Farming Rewards
Beyond team pride, the event carries its usual haul of Super Sea Snails for high-ranking players, alongside extra perks tied to the Raiders promotion. Japanese outlet Saiganak reported that Nintendo Switch Online members who play during the main event can earn 100 Platinum Points and special icon elements, with Nintendo automatically granting the icon elements after the Splatfest ends, between Monday, July 20, and Thursday, July 30, 2026. The same report noted that playing during the Splatfest also boosts in-game odds, since the occurrence rate of 10x Matches and Conch Shell battles doubles compared to usual, with Conch Shells feeding a lobby gacha machine that rewards banners, titles, food tickets and ability chunks.
With Nintendo having already wound down Splatoon 3’s regular content drops after its “Grand Festival” send-off, Fighting Style stands out as one of the few fresh Splatfest themes left for the three-year-old shooter, and a rare moment where its scoring engine is being used to hype a completely different game. For NZ and AU Inklings still deciding between Shiver’s speed, Frye’s power or Big Man’s tactics, the clock is already running on the weekend’s Turf War and Ranked grind.
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