Splatoon 3 Bug on Nintendo Switch 2 Allows Squid Rolling on Any Surface: Community Raises Concerns

Nintendo has long prided itself on offering a seamless gameplay experience, frequently delivering free upgrades and timely patches to ensure both legacy and new titles perform flawlessly on their latest hardware.

With the arrival of the Nintendo Switch 2—a significant leap forward in Nintendo’s hybrid console lineage—many first-party games have received updates for improved compatibility and performance.

However, a major issue recently emerged for Splatoon 3, a tentpole multiplayer shooter developed by Nintendo, spotlighting ongoing challenges with backward compatibility. Members of the Splatoon 3 community have discovered a disruptive bug that affects gameplay on the Nintendo Switch 2.

According to multiple user reports, players are now able to perform the squid roll maneuver on any surface in the game, regardless of whether the area is covered in their team's ink.

This bug undermines a core mechanic of Splatoon 3, where movement abilities are normally restricted to inked areas—potentially creating an imbalance and disrupting competitive integrity. The issue was first brought to light by a user identified as 'Diolass' on the Bluesky social network, who described the bug as having a profound impact on gameplay.

In their words, the bug allows for squid rolling "without surface ink limitations," dramatically changing how matches can play out. Technical analysis from community dataminer 'OatmealDome' suggests that this error may stem from Switch 2's GPU emulation and translation processes.

"Splatoon games have occasionally exhibited ink detection issues in unofficial emulators due to GPU emulation anomalies, and something similar could be happening with the Switch 2's backward compatibility layer," OatmealDome explained on social media. Nintendo has acknowledged that Switch 2 backward compatibility is still being refined, with some games experiencing minor to significant issues.

The company has already published an official list of titles affected and is actively working on delivering patches where necessary.

In addition to game compatibility hiccups, several non-gaming apps such as YouTube are also not yet available on the Switch 2 as of its launch period. Splatoon 3 originally launched for the Nintendo Switch in September 2022 and quickly established itself as one of the platform’s best-selling multiplayer experiences.

The title's transition to the Switch 2 is intended to keep fans engaged with enhanced performance and new content, but this bug highlights the complexities of supporting a vast software library across hardware generations. Nintendo has not issued an official statement on this specific Splatoon 3 bug as of publication.

Community members are encouraged to report any new issues through official support channels.

Stay tuned to Nintendo Direct and official news outlets for updates regarding potential patches or workarounds for Splatoon 3 and other affected titles on the Nintendo Switch 2.

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