The 'squid scientists' are back to do more research for the upcoming Splatoon 2. The cutesy shooter will be getting a special demo on Nintendo's Switch from March 24 to March 26th. This will be a 'global testfire' meaning that the short beta should be available in all regions.
Those hoping to binge paint for those 3 days should be warned that these play sessions will be in hour long chunks. There will be six of these blocks that will roll out at specific times:
Friday March 24th
- 8-8:59pm Pacific Time Zone (PT)
- 12-12:59pm PT
Saturday March 25th
- 4-4:59am PT
- 12-12:59pm PT
- 8-8:59pm PT
Sunday March 26th
- 4-4:59am PT
The announcement, that was made via a YouTube video that you can find below, gave a few details of the what will be available in the description text:
"All indications are that the content for the Global Testfire is similar to what’s being offered on the Nintendo Switch Preview Tour. Players can test four different main weapons, including the new Splat Dualies, as well as remixed versions of the iconic Splat Roller and Splat Charger. Extraordinary! We look forward to sharing additional findings soon, such as when the demo will be available for download on Nintendo eShop."
With the Switch launching worldwide on March 3rd and it's nice to see Nintendo trying out a free playable beta so soon afterwards. The fact that they are already thinking ahead about improving their online system is a good sign.
Splatoon 2 just a has a vague summer release window so this will be a nice chance to check out the game without having to hunt down a demo kiosk in your local gaming store. You might have to set multiple alarms to take advantage of the varied testfire schedule.
Hopefully Nintendo will get plenty of stock for the Switch before and after launch so more people can try it out and take part in this short beta. The beta trailer can be found below: