Splatoon 3’s February Splatfest will make you choose your favorite chocolate

The January 2023 Splatfest revolved around “taste sensations” of Spicy, Sweet, and Sour, with Sweet proving to be the superior flavor. One month later, Splatoon 3 now plans to host its fifth Splatfest, with the theme centered around different kinds of chocolate. The Splatoon North America Twitter account announced the dates, times, and themes of the event: Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, and White Chocolate.

In a Splatfest, there are three teams based on different themes that players are able to choose from. Their decision gives them a limited-time Splatfest Tee for the duration of the event, which comes with Ability Doubler as its primary ability. During this period, the main lobby will be changed for the festivities, with matchmaking limited to Open, Pro, and Tricolor matches.

Before the event’s start date, a Splatfest Sneak Peek will start on Feb. 3 at 2pm CT, when players can pick a team and earn conch shells. This limited-time currency can be redeemed at the Shell-Out Machine in the main lobby for additional rewards, alongside earning points for the selected team at the end of the Splatfest.

New to Splatoon 3 is the Tricolor Turf War, which becomes available to play after the halftime announcement of the Splatfest. This game mode includes members from all three Splatfest teams, with one team having four players in a lobby, while the others had two. Previously, the winning team at halftime would spawn in the middle of the Splatfest maps, forced to defend on both sides from the opposite teams. This limitation has been changed with a patch in November 2022 to allow for all teams to participate as both attackers and defenders, regardless of halftime results.

All participants in a Splatfest will earn Super Sea Snails, with the amount decided by the winning team at the end of the event, and the individual title of the player. There are five categories for deciding the winning Splatfest team, including the Sneak Peak conch shells collected, popularity, Open, Pro, and Tricolor Mode Clout. The team that earns the most points will be declared the victor of the Splatfest, earning greater rewards than the other two teams.

Splatoon 3’s previous Splatfests included Rock, Paper, Scissors, Gear, Grub, and Fun, a Pokémon collaboration with Water, Grass, and Fire, and the most recent Splatfest of Spicy, Sweet, and Sour. 
The fifth Splatfest will start on Feb.10 at 6pm CT, running until Feb.12, also ending at 6pm CT. Once the event ends, all players will lose access to the Splatfest Tee gained at the start, with the lobby and all game modes returning to normal. Players will want to indulge in as much of the festivities as possible, with Splatoon 3 Splatfests happening only once a month.