How Splatoon 3's DLC Could Follow Return of the Mammalians

gamerant.com:

Splatoon 3 is just a few weeks old and barely through its first official Splatfest, which ends tonight at 5:00 p.m. PT. Yet many have already blown through Splatoon 3's Return of the Mammalians story between Turf War matches, grinding their rank in Anarchy Battle, and collecting Golden Eggs in Salmon Run: Next Wave. This latest entry in Nintendo's popular shooter franchise has more distractions than ever thanks to additions like customizable lockers and Tableturf Battles, but fans are undoubtedly hungry to see what story developments come in the large-scale DLC promised during Splatoon 3's August 2022 Direct.

Nintendo has made it clear that Splatoon 3 has a two-year shelf life. Updates will include new ranked game modes like X Battle and League Battle, as well as catalogs full of items, emotes, and more releasing every three months. Large-scale DLC is perhaps the most interesting, if mysterious tease given Return of the Mammalians acts as a «finale» for the series' main narrative. However, if it's anything like Splatoon 2's Octo Expansion while building upon Splatoon 3's new lore, players could have a lot to anticipate. Spoilers for Splatoon 3 ahead.

Splatoon 3: What the Alterna Logs Reveal About the Fall of Humanity

The obvious direction for Splatoon 3's DLC is a direct continuation of Octo Expansion, which moved away from the story of Agent 4 and Marie saving a brainwashed Callie and Inkopolis' Great Zapfish from DJ Octavio. Octo Expansion followed Agent 8, an Octoling who breaks away from Octarian society after hearing the Squid Sisters' «Calamari Inkantation» at the end of Splatoon. They lose their memory during an encounter with the original Agent 3, Splatoon's player character, and must help Cap'n Cuttlefish escape