Nintendo Withdraws from Splatoon 3 World Championship, Banner for Winners to Change

Nintendo has revoked the Splatoon 3 World Championship win for the Jackpot team due to the controversial behavior of its members, with updates to the game set to alter the in-game banner of the winning team, as fans have voiced their support for Nintendo's decision to take this action, emphasizing that racist behavior has no place in the inclusive and community-driven world of Splatoon.

Nintendo Revokes Splatoon 3 World Championship Win Over Controversial Behavior

Nintendo has revealed that the winners of the Splatoon 3 World Championship are having their win revoked and the in-game banner bearing their likeness altered. This follows after controversy came to light surrounding the winning team's behavior inside and outside Splatoon 3.

Nintendo's titles might not be the first thing fans think of when considering eSports, but the company does have a history of participating with certain titles. Splatoon 3's World Championship was held in April after initially being delayed from January due to bomb threats made against Nintendo and its employees. Teams from six different regions battled it out, but the winning team isn't celebrating anymore.

Nintendo made an official announcement that Jackpot, the winning team, would have its win vacated. It will not be receiving the trophies associated with the win, either. This comes following information that came to light about a month ago regarding the actions of the team. Numerous images and videos surfaced of Jackpot team members mocking Splatoon 3 players with racist comments and sharing similarly offensive memes and images. Game developers frequently take action against racist behavior in games, but considering Nintendo's family-friendly image, the actions of these competitors are particularly egregious.

Upcoming Changes in Splatoon 3

In addition to announcing that the team would have its win revoked, an upcoming update to Splatoon 3 will be making a change to the team's winning banner. As world champions, Splatoon 3 released an in-game banner that any fans could use to celebrate the victory. The banner featured the winners' in-game likenesses and the World Championship logo. It's not clear how Nintendo will alter the banner, but at the very least, players can probably expect the four team members to be removed from it. It's also possible that it may be completely replaced with an entirely different and unrelated banner to completely separate the game from these actions.

At the moment, the majority of the Splatoon community members responding to Nintendo's actions seem to be positive. Many fans consider Splatoon to be an inclusive game, and this kind of behavior has no place in any games, let alone coming from champions representing it. While a member of the team did respond to the accusations and apologize back in June, it doesn't make up for the behavior, and Nintendo couldn't turn a blind eye to it, especially after the evidence blew up on social media.

In the meantime, the runners-up in the World Championship have not been awarded the win following Jackpot's removal. It seems the Splatoon 3 World Championships of 2024 will remain without a winner.