Splatoon has a new online social hub that lets players arranges battles with friends and track in-game progress.
Splatoon’s Squid Ring website went live last night, following a big software update to Nintendo’s quirky third-person shooter for Wii U. Currently only available in Japanese, players can log into Squid Ring with their Nintendo ID to see their friends list, game ranking, equipment, and the current map rotations (Splatoon’s multiplayer mode cycles through maps, with only a few available at any one time).
We’ve reached out to Nintendo to ask when an English-language version of the site will go live.
Nintendo’s promising long-term support for Splatoon, which is one of its brightest new intellectual properties in years. By constantly dropping in new content — and adding social features like this new website — the Japanese gaming giant is helping to engage the current Splatoon community and encourage new players to join in. That’s essential for a title so deeply rooted in multiplayer.
Nintendo News explored the Squid Ring site in detail and explained that the friends section has an option to invite your friends to an online battle, specifying the time, match mode, and even the selectable weapons.
Squid Ring also has an option for fans to log in via Twitter, suggesting further social integration options for Splatoon in the future.