Splatoon 2 DLC Is Now Part Of The Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack

I’ve always wanted to play Octo expansion but I’ve never wanted to pay for it, I have no choice now
Edit: I'M PLAYING IT, IT'S SO GOOD
Edit 2: Never mind I'm on the bouncy 8-Ball level i hate this
Edit 3: I beat it never mind I like this again

@Jackpaza0508
To be completely honest with you, this is probably the only Nintendo DLC that I believe is completely worth paying money for. Not even Breath of the Wild's DLC is as worth something as this.

That’s really good, the expansion pack is amazing.

That's nice. I already have it but I'm yet to play it. I will after I'm done with story mode which I'm currently playing. I've been playing Splatoon 2 for 130 hours and yet I've barely touched the single player content.

Seriously if you still haven't played the Octo Expansion, you must. It is absolutely incredible.

I was thiiiiis close to picking it up back in March when it was on sale for €14 but my friends talked me out of it. GLAD I LISTENED BABY WOOHOO.

Also, this sets a very interesting precedent as the first 'old' DLC to be added to NSO EP. Maybe we'll get stuff like Pokemon, Zelda or god forbid even Smash down the line? You can only hope.

I guess my question is, if you beat the DLC while in the expansion pak time frame, then you get the ability to play as an octoling, but….

If you aren’t a subscriber anymore, do you lose access to playing as an octoling?

Great dlc adds a ton to splatoon 2. Bought the dlc on its first sale it got

I had been waiting on this to go on sale… now I might as well buy the NSO Expansion!!!

I suppose we can expect Breath of the Wild's DLC to get added to NSO + Expansion Pack once the release date for Breath of the Wild 2 is announced.

@Fizza Certainly does set an interesting precedent. Who would buy DLC now for a Nintendo game if they are a subscriber? I haven't bought the second set of Smash fighters yet, and would seriously question doing so now.

This is really cool for me personally as I recently picked up a discounted version of Splatoon 2, and didn't even know about how well received this DLC was. (Obviously some people are dumping the game in anticipation of Splatoon 3, so keep your eyes out if you haven't played it yet.)

People who already paid $20 for it:
This is outrageous. It's unfair!

What a lovely kick in the teeth to the people who paid for it years ago.

I think Nintendo should just announce that all future First Party DLC will come to the EP and they should retroactively put all older first party DLC on the service.

If they aren’t going to add full games as bonuses, they would be a nice alternative.

I remember Octo Expansion being very challenging, so if you’re looking for a tough single-player experience, you can definitely lose yourself in that mode. Plus the endgame for it and being able to play Turf Wars as an Octoling are pretty great. The endgame is right on par with the endgame for Octo Canyon in terms of enjoyment and fun.

already have it, because superfan, but thats amaizng! now more people can find out how awesome this game is!

@InkIdols I think we're both in the camp of losing our minds over what's happened today!

@Fizza I know! WE HAVE LAUNCH DATE!

Good move for drawing attention back on Splatoon and reinforcing the expansion pass is a season pass for Nintendo stuff.

Wow, even more reason for me to get that expansion. I haven’t touched Splatoon 2 in ages and this looks very enticing.

This is great, I get the impression more expansion DLCs are going to be added over time. Breath of the Wild probably. Basically anything that was called "expansion pass" by Nintendo. As opposed to smash bros fighters passes which probably won't get included

This is cool! I didn't think they'd put existing dlc into the pack!

I bought it on day 1, as I adore Splatoon characters!

Captain Toad DLC is also absolutely brilliant, please don't forget that. Also the VR levels are brilliant!

The Octo Expansion has been on my wishlist for… years now lol. Bigger releases and my backlog just keep distracting me from purchasing it. This is very nice to know I don’t have to pay any extra now to play through it this spring/summer!

Hahaha, and I was so close to pay for the DLC... glad that I hestitated

Well done, Nintendo!
You just added at least one additional NSO+ costumer to your list.

@Late same here

@Darkwario1 You’ll probably keep the octoling. I’m certain of this because I bought the octo expansion when it originally came out and my younger sibling would play on my switch until they got their own, but even after they had transferred their save file to the new switch. Even though they could no longer play any of the octo expansion levels, they still could choose to play as an octoling.

My nephew got Splatoon 2 back in March and was just asking this week if he sould get Octo Expansion already. I convinced him not to by telling him to exhaust the base game as much as possible. Now he can get it without remorse, and so can I, I borrowed his copy.

I'm probably doing the same I'm gonna do with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: Get the DLC through the NSO Expansion Pack and pay to keep it before either the NSO or the Switch eShop closes.

@AlternateRT gotcha, that makes sense then. Thanks!

Oh cool! I never did invest in the Splatoon 2 DLC so this is a very nice addition to the NSO Expansion Pack. It keeps incrementally getting better and better.

If only I had the time to thoroughly enjoy all the games and DLC it offers...

Wow! I love Splatoon but kind of fell out of it due to the TERRIBLE experience of trying to play online with friends. S2 I felt was a little samey to S1 so it didn't have a lot of longevity for me. S3 looks even more samey so I'm a tad nervous but dang...free October Expansion might for sure hook me back in for at least a while! Cool news!

@gaga64 Oh please. A kick in the teeth? The Octo Expansion came out almost four years ago. Do you also get pissed when games go on sale years after release? Fly off the handle when games get added to PS Plus/GamePass? Get your britches in a bundle when remakes come out with DLC included? It's not nearly as awful as you're making it out to be.

Glad more people get to try this DLC out. I really enjoyed it when I got it a while back, but I feel like it passed by without most people even noticing. Hope Splatoon 3 keeps up the series's tradition of trippy campaigns with weirdly messed up lore.

Great news! Now add Zelda BOTW dlc as well and I’ll buy

@Bret different situation though. Other than GamePass, those are all post-release price drops to draw in new customers.

In this case, there are people who paid for the DLC, and then also paid for the NSO Expansion, so in effect they’re paying an additional premium for content they already own (albeit in addition to other software, and ending the NSO sub won’t take the expansion away).

Yeah, it’s not that big of a deal. I’m not really that fussed. Mainly just wondering how many people own Spla2n but not the DLC to take advantage of this.

@gcunit I still haven't gotten the expansion pack, but even if I did, I'd probably buy some of the DLC anyway. If it's something I really care about, I don't want to lose access to it when my subscription runs out.

@AndyC_MK111 I agree in preferring to pay for it. But if you are already paying for NSO+ then this is nice to sample them before purchasing or checking out one of lesser interest.

@Toads-Friend Lol I was just about to say they should add Captain Toad DLC... I've 100% the full game and keep meaning to buy it, but now I wonder if I should wait. It would certainly make NSO Expansion far more tempting value if Nintendo decided then just made clear that ALL first party DLC is included with it.

Ah great, another thing added to switch online which only benefits about a tenth of the switch user base. Safe to say this isn’t a game changer for me.

@gaga64 At this point, 99% of the people who were going to buy the DLC probably have, and I'd still rather own it permanently anyway, so I see no problem with letting more people get their hands on it.

@AndyC_MK111 Yeah sure, its very cheap so that why I've been eyeing it up. I love the original game, bought and completed it on Wii U and Switch.

But I can definitely see them just putting all First Party DLC on the service relatively soon. Would make it easier to market, rather than having to specify an ever growing list and confusing the market.

But I already downloaded this while it’s on sale...

@gaga64 NPD did a study about five or six years ago showing that something like 26% of people playing videogames buy DLC. Obviously the numbers have gone up in recent years, and the rise in games as a service has changed how we consume our gaming content but the purchase rate for single player DLC hasn't gone up in the same way. So there is probably still a fairly significant portion of the Splatoon 2 audience that may benefit from this.

I really wish I could buy the Octo DLC without the main game. 😕 It looks like something I'd love but I have no interest in buying the core Splatoon 2 game.

@AndyC_MK111 GamePass' offering is head and shoulders more expansive than NSO+, but the yearly cost for it is significantly higher. Even accounting for the price difference I'd still say that Gasspass is a better value but it does seem an unfair comparison considering Microsoft is marketing the Xbox entirely around the service.

I will say that I appreciate NSO+ more than PS+. I haven't gotten anything good out of PS+ in what feels like ages.

Very nice value add. Folks forget there are brand new switch owners (and people that don’t buy dlc) every day. Buy a switch, NSO+, Mario Kart and like one other game and a new owner is set for a long time.

@Indielink that’s interesting. Though I imagine the Venn diagram of “people that buy DLC” and “people that buy the NSO Expansion sub” has a lot of crossover

For anyone who had bought it before now, would you have rather had it back when you originally bought it and got to enjoy it at that time instead of now? Or would you have rather waited if you knew it would be free later?
Honestly curious. I picked up Splatoon 2 only last year and I'm really enjoying it. Had I picked it up in 2017 or 2018, I would have been more tempted to buy the DLC then and I would have been pleased about getting to play it years in advance. We all also buy things at certain times due to different factors. So I'm honestly curious.

Why are people complaining about this? Once splatoon 3 hits later this year the player base will move away from this game, it makes sense to get as many player as possible invested in this series before that happens. Also this doesn’t make the dlc “free” as people are paying for an annual subscription to get access to it. People who bought it keep it technically forever

Right on, I never picked up the DLC but I got the expansion!

Good on Nintendo, this is perhaps the greatest DLC ever made, period (Torna is up there too, but married by them locking some QoL for XC2 behind the pass).

Glad more people will get to play it. Doesn't entice me but y'know.

will this DLC work with a USA version of the game if my NSO is UK/Europe? i guess i'll give it a whirl

Edit: Sadly the answer is a big fat no.

Finally! I keep putting off buying this DLC, and now I have the chance to. Add the Fighter’s Pass to the list, and Nintendo has a fair service.

I have yet to get the dlc but this is a good addition for me. I have yet to get the expansion pass but if the leaks are ended true and if they add GBA games to the expansion pass then I say I will buy it cause at that point the price will be justifiable for me.

See, keep adding stuff like this and the extra will be well worth it.

@blindsquarel A tenth of the switch user base is much more than you think, you may want to choose a different fraction. A tenth of ALL switch owners would be over 10 million users and Splatoon 2 sold a bit over 12 million from I remember.

Based on your fraction, only 2 million people bought the octo expansion, so this would make it a surprisingly great deal for 10 million people to sign on!

FE3H and Zelda dlc and I'm in! Oh and Captain Toad.

I hope fighter packs for smash also gets included for NSO. Maybe release FP3 to go with it.

@Jackpaza0508 LMAO, I heard that level sucks too.

Oddly enough, even as a big splatoon fan, I never picked this up, so hey this works for me.

When the Animal Crossing expansion was announced, I was initially very skeptical when people were saying maybe all of Nintendo's DLC moving forward would be included for free in the NSO Expansion Pass. But at this rate, they might add the Mario + Rabbids DK expansion, The Champions' Ballad, and even the friggin' Smash Bros. Fighter Pass.

There's probably a good number of people out there who don't like paying extra for a game they already spent $60 on, so they never picked up the Smash DLC or any of the other add-on content. Asking them to pay less than the price of a full retail release every year to get all of it at no extra charge could be a smart strategy for them.

It's only been out for about 6 months, and Nintendo is already proving that they're gonna be CONSTANTLY adding new stuff. In that time we've gotten over a dozen N64 games, 25 SEGA Genesis games, a handful of solid NES and SNES games (EarthBound. EarthBound Beginnings, Earthworm Jim, Mappy Land, Dig-Dug II), continued Tetris 99 support with Pokémon and Kirby themes, Animal Crossing DLC, Mario Kart DLC, and the inclusion of Splatoon 2 DLC. All this in 6 months. Plus, the Game Boy rumors.

I'm legitimately having a hard time finding the time to play all these games. Plus, Nintendo has improved their online infrastructure with games like Mario Party Superstars, Monster Hunter, and 3D World. Maybe not everyone is interested in the NSO Expansion Pass, which is fine, but to call it a bad value at this point? I just don't think I can agree.

@8bitdaysaweek

Sakurai and Nintendo made it pretty explicitly clear they were done with Ultimate, but that would be great. I'd love for him to come back to the game in a couple years after he finishes his next project (which I hope is an Uprising remaster). By then, Microsoft will have full control over Activision, and my dream of seeing Crash and Spyro in Smash could finally be realized. But, that's a big pipe dream.

In the meanwhile, it'd be awesome if Nintendo did what they're doing with the MK8 DX Booster Course Pass with Smash and remaster the handful of stages that are still missing: Rainbow Road, Pac-Maze, Orbital Gate Assault, Pokéfloats, Great Fox, Zebes, Mute City (Melee), Jungle Hijinxs... They really wouldn't have to bring in Sakurai to do that.

Seems a bit of a cop out. It's that old that at this point it's only going to be people who were never going to buy it anyway.

@BenAV
The fact that it's basically a full game and also got its own retail release is why I don't entirely consider to be DLC. Torna is amazing enough to be called its own game, I feel.

I bought it when it want on sale a bit ago, but I'm glad it's apart of the expansion pass. More people need to be playing Splatoon, and I'm glad to get them talking about it in the lead up to 3.

@Jackpaza0508 the edits are making me laugh way to much haha.

@UsurperKing
I was talking about the switch user base as a whole. Not just the people who bought splatoon 2. And yes I know that splatoon sold a little over 12 mil units. That’s why I said about a tenth of the user base benefit from this.

@blindsquarel Now that you mention it, you're completely right. I have no idea what I was thinking when I wrote that comment. I guess I latched on to the "ONLY one tenth" bit, as it made it sound like an insignificant amount of people. But then I very much overstated the significance.

Well, I will leave this interaction with another reminder to not be hasty when commenting and to think things through. Have a wonderful whatever time of day it is when you're reading this!

I loved the Octo Expansion, was compelled to 100% it. The final boss was awesome.

Octo Expansion was incredible, I could never enjoy the story mode in the first 2 games, but I loved this DLC. I really hope Splatoon 3's is more like Octo Expansion.

@Multi Out of curiosity, did you go to the eShop to download the Octoling Expansion? When Mario Kart's DLC launched, several people missed the fact you needed to still download the DLC from the eShop with their Expansion Pass Content.

@Knuckles hey, I can download with ease for free, but my USA version of the game won't recognise it and when I laugh the DL it wants me to buy the full EU game. I'll try switching regions and see if I can download the USA dlc.

Region locking dlc is crazy!!