Nintendo Strips Jackpot of Splatoon 3 World Championship Title After Community Guidelines Breach
Entry information
Published on: July 24, 2024
Description
In a decisive move highlighting its ongoing commitment to community standards, Nintendo has officially vacated the 2024 Splatoon 3 World Championship victory that was originally awarded to North American team Jackpot.
This action follows the emergence of verified evidence demonstrating that certain members of Jackpot engaged in conduct not aligned with the company’s Community Guidelines, according to an official statement released by Nintendo Versus via their X (formerly Twitter) account.
"It has come to our attention that certain members of team Jackpot, the team that recently won the Splatoon 3 World Championship, behaved in a way that does not align with our Community Guidelines during their participation in Splatoon 3," Nintendo stated in their announcement.
As a direct result of these violations, the company confirmed that "team Jackpot's win will be considered vacated, and the team will not receive trophies associated with the event."
In addition to rescinding the championship title and trophies, Nintendo announced that the celebratory in-game Splashtag banner—originally distributed to all players in June to commemorate Jackpot’s victory—will be removed in an upcoming Splatoon 3 software update.
Tweets referencing the Jackpot-themed banner from both the SplatoonNA and Nintendo of America accounts have also been deleted as the company seeks to remove endorsements associated with the team.
The statement underscores Nintendo’s prioritization of a welcoming and inclusive gaming environment on platforms like the Nintendo Switch and through global esports competitions.
"Nintendo cares deeply about our players and our community, and we take our responsibility to uphold our Community Guidelines seriously," the statement emphasized.
While Nintendo's public communications refrained from specifying the nature of the conduct, multiple reputable sources—including updated threads on Reddit and commentary from the competitive community—confirm that team members engaged in racist behavior across social media and gaming streams.
Detailed documentation compiled by spectators and tournament followers cite repeated instances of derogatory language, including slurs and offensive comparisons.
One Jackpot member, Jared, issued a public apology in a shared Google document, acknowledging the team’s actions and accepting responsibility for his own behavior.
He wrote, "I know a lot of people looked up to us—Jackpot and me personally.
I'm sorry that I let you all down."
The 2024 Splatoon 3 World Championship, held in April in Japan, originally saw Jackpot take first place with Japanese team Phantom Thief as runner-up.
Nintendo has not yet clarified whether Phantom Thief or any other participant will be awarded the championship title in light of these events.
This development reiterates Nintendo’s serious stance on upholding its community standards across the competitive Splatoon 3 scene and ensures all content—digital or otherwise—remains consistent with the inclusive values promoted on the Nintendo Switch and its featured esports tournaments.
