Splatoon 2 arrives on Nintendo Switch in July, so details are slowly starting to trickle out ahead of E3. As seen on the game’s official Tumblr page, Sheldon will be on hand to arm single-player character Agent 4 with all types of weapons. Is that a P90, and what new features might it have?

Nintendo posted the image below on Sunday, and now it’s got the whole Splatoon 2 community talking. Take a look at that featured gun to the left. While we’re no experts in squid research, that sure looks like an Inkopolis version of the P90 to us. The similarity in design couldn’t be more apparent, and it’s featured very obviously in the graphic.

Read: Splatoon 2 Sigureni Gear Revealed For The Nintendo Switch Game

That being said, the common consensus amongst fans is that the gun itself may not be an entirely new weapon. Instead, it could be a redesigned take on the existing Hero Shot used by players in Splatoon’s offline Hero Mode. After all, the gun was briefly featured in this month’s single-player Splatoon 2 trailer, which seemingly associates it with that particular mode.

There’s also one key phrase from the social media post to make note of as well. It’s said that Sheldon will “collect data on his weapons so he can mass produce them for use in official Turf War battles.” For those who played the original Splatoon, this might feel like an overt tease of a new feature. Players were previously only able to use Hero weapons in offline play. If Sheldon can do research to bring them to other parts of the game, that’s something to be happy about. Hero weapons typically haven’t offered any specific gameplay advantage, but at least taking them online potentially offers more customization options.
As much as we’d love to assume that sick P90 is a totally new gun, that doesn’t mesh with what Nintendo is seemingly trying to accomplish with Splatoon 2. From what we’ve seen so far, there doesn't appear to be much drive to upset the current weapons balance of Splatoon with new ways to fight. Instead, the sequel is most focused on adding alternative modes and more stages to Turf War. The Splat Dualies are new, but Nintendo has placed so much emphasis on that single exclusive item that may be all we’re getting.

Read: Splatoon 2 Squid Sister Stories Tease Rift Between Callie & Marie

Aside from a few stray Tumblr posts, things have been fairly quiet at the Squid Research Lab in recent days. Earlier this week we got a small tease of our confrontation with the Octolings, and we also know that voice chat will be available for online multiplayer matches. That being said, communication will only be permitted between friends.

Splatoon 2 comes to Nintendo Switch July 21. We expect to hear a lot more about the game during Nintendo’s E3 Spotlight presentation June 13 at noon EDT.

What do you think of the P90-like weapon coming to Splatoon 2? It a Hero Shot skin or something more? Will it be accessible in multiplayer? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section!

RELATED STORIES
Switch Release date Nintendo