Nintendo Switch Online gets free Splatoon 2 DLC ahead of Splatoon 3 launch

Splatoon 2’s Octo Expansion released about four years ago, and now Nintendo Switch Online owners can get it for free. It’s a nice freebie that doubles as a marketing move for Nintendo.

Octo Expansion added a big new single-player campaign to Splatoon 2, which featured the Octoling Agent 8 going through 80 different missions in an underground test facility. Finishing them all unlocked Octolings for multiplayer use too. Octo Expansion also includes “special octo-themed gear.”

Nintendo is also quite upfront about making Octo Expansion free on the company’s website. “With Splatoon 3 on the horizon, this DLC is the perfect way to get in some practice before you take on the Splatlands,” it reads. It’s true; plenty of players are hyped now that Splatoon 3 has been confirmed to be launching this September. Specifically, it will arrive on Friday, September 9. It’s taking Xenoblade Chronicles 3’s launch window in a sense, as the RPG was recently moved forward to a July release.

Octo Expansion is just one part of the new offerings on Nintendo Switch Online. Three new Sega Genesis games are also available now: Shining Force II, Sonic Spinball, and Space Harrier II. Sonic’s inclusion is a tie-in too, considering that Sonic the Hedgehog 2 just recently came to theaters.