"Splatoon," big-name game publisher Nintendo's first-ever third-person shooter, is set to receive a major update next month. According to the company's announcement on the official Nintendo U.K. website, the free software update for the ink shooter will introduce a host of new content to the title, in addition to improving performance and gameplay.
Most of the improvements to be added will be on the Inklings' arsenal of weapons and gears. Two new weapons, the Slosher and the Splatling, will be introduced. The Splatling is a gun that shoots ink in a Gatling-like manner, splashing round after round in a matter of seconds. The Slosher, on the other hand, is a long-ranged gun-and-arbalest launcher that can get to opponents even high up or hiding on the other side of obstacles.
Aside from the two new weapons, the game update will also add a number of gears for players, from new clothes and costumes to additional accessories.
The update will also add two new matchmaking game modes. In the new Private Battle matches, players can customize battle options such as map, match modes, and weapons for two up to eight players. In this mode, auto team balance is turned off so the host can also choose from 1v2, or even 3v5 matches.
Squad Battles are additional ranked matches that pit friends against each other and not the auto player selection modes of the game. Players can set a squad of two to four Inklings and duke it out against other random squads.
To anticipate the influx of players that would level up using the new modes and weapons in the update, the new version will also raise the level cap for "Splatoon." Players can reach level 50, and rank S and S+ in ranked matches.
The new update is expected to roll out on Aug. 6.
