Timeline
Everything in order, from the last days of the mammals to the Spire of Order. Dates are relative to the first Turf War season in Inkopolis Plaza, since Inklings are not great at calendars.
- About 12,000 years ago
The seas rise and humanity drowns
Sea levels rise catastrophically and the human civilization that built cities, subways, and rockets vanishes beneath the water. Sunken Scrolls preserve the evidence: a two-legged skeleton and a note about the rising tide.
Read the record - About 12,000 years ago
A professor builds Commander Tartar
As the flood approaches, a human professor creates an artificial intelligence and charges it with preserving humanity's knowledge for whatever intelligent species comes next.
Read the record - About 12,000 years ago
Judd is sealed in a capsule
A scientist who foresees the flood places his beloved cat in a preservation capsule with instructions for its care. The cat will wake up in a very different world.
Read the record - After the flood
Survivors build Alterna underground
A group of human survivors retreats into a sealed underground refuge beneath what will one day be the Splatlands. They construct a liquid crystal sky that can display any image they imagine.
Read the record - After the flood
Alterna launches a bear into space
Longing for the real sky, the residents of Alterna develop rockets and launch a test flight with a bear aboard. The launch succeeds. The bear will not return for a very long time.
Read the record - After the flood
The crystal sky falls and the logs go silent
Alterna's liquid crystal sky becomes unstable under the residents' longing for the surface. The final Alterna Logs record the crystals falling, and then nothing.
Read the record - Over the following millennia
Squid and octopus climb onto the land
With the ocean everywhere, cephalopods evolve toward the humanoid forms of Inklings and Octolings, learning to walk, talk, and swim through their own ink. Other sea life follows.
Read the record - Before the Great Turf War
Judd's capsule opens
The preserved cat wakes into a world of sea creatures and, eventually, becomes the impartial referee of Inkling sport. He is the only mammal anyone knows of.
Read the record - 100 years before Splatoon
The Great Turf War
Inklings and Octarians go to war over the last dry land. The Octarians field the Great Octoweapons; the Inklings field the Squidbeak Splatoon, including a young Craig Cuttlefish.
Read the record - 100 years before Splatoon
The loose plug ends the war
In the decisive battle, the Octarians' Great Octoweapons shut down when a plug on their power supply comes loose. The Inklings surge forward and win.
Read the record - After the Great Turf War
The Octarians retreat underground
Defeated, the Octarians withdraw into vast domes beneath Octo Valley and Octo Canyon, lit by painted skies and powered by scavenged Zapfish. DJ Octavio keeps the war alive in their propaganda.
Read the record - The century of peace
Turf War becomes a sport
On the surface, the Inklings turn their war into a game. Ink weapons become sporting goods, the Shellendorf family builds an industry, and Inkopolis grows around the Great Zapfish.
Read the record - A few years before Splatoon
The Squid Sisters debut
Callie and Marie, cousins from Calamari County and granddaughters of Cap'n Cuttlefish, win a talent contest and become Inkopolis's first idol duo. Their song, the Calamari Inkantation, will change everything.
Read the record - Splatoon (Year 0)
The Great Zapfish is stolen; Agent 3 goes to Octo Valley
DJ Octavio's Octarians steal the Great Zapfish. Cap'n Cuttlefish recruits a passing Inkling as Agent 3, who fights through Octo Valley and defeats Octavio as the Calamari Inkantation plays.
Read the record - Splatoon (Year 0)
The first Splatfest: Cats vs. Dogs
The Squid Sisters host the first Splatfest, Callie backing Cats and Marie backing Dogs. Cats win, and a tradition of canon-shaping festivals begins.
Read the record - Splatoon (Year 1)
The final Splatfest of Splatoon: Callie vs. Marie
The Squid Sisters face each other. Marie wins. In the aftermath the cousins drift apart, and Callie wanders toward Octo Canyon.
Read the record - Splatoon 2 (Year 2)
Callie vanishes; Agent 4 goes to Octo Canyon
The Great Zapfish is stolen again and Callie is missing. Marie recruits Agent 4, who uncovers Octavio's Hypnoshades. Marie shoots them off Callie's face and the Squid Sisters reunite. Off the Hook take over Inkopolis News and Grizzco opens for business.
Read the record - Octo Expansion (Year 2.5)
Agent 8 escapes the Deepsea Metro
An amnesiac Octoling and Cap'n Cuttlefish survive Kamabo Co.'s tests, expose the blender, and, with Off the Hook and a recovered Agent 3, destroy Commander Tartar atop the NILS Statue. Octolings begin arriving on the surface.
Read the record - Splatoon 2 (Year 4)
The final Splatfest of Splatoon 2: Chaos vs. Order
Pearl champions Chaos, Marina champions Order, and the world is asked what kind of future it wants. Chaos wins, and the answer shapes the Splatlands.
Read the record - Between Splatoon 2 and Splatoon 3
The Octarian exodus
Drawn by the Calamari Inkantation and by curiosity about the surface, Octolings desert the domes in growing numbers. By Splatoon 3 they are ordinary citizens of Splatsville and Inkopolis.
Read the record - Splatoon 3 (Year 7)
Return of the Mammalians
In Splatsville, the new Agent 3 descends into Alterna with a Smallfry, faces Deep Cut, reads the Alterna Logs, and learns that Mr. Grizz is the bear from Alterna. With every idol singing, Grizz's rocket is stopped.
Read the record - Splatoon 3 (Year 7)
Splatfest World Premiere: Rock vs. Paper vs. Scissors
Deep Cut host the first three-way Splatfest, introducing Tricolor Turf War. Shiver's Team Rock takes the win.
Read the record - Splatoon 3 (Year 7.5)
Inkopolis Square reopens as a hub
Players return to Inkopolis Square with Off the Hook back on the news desk, and later to Inkopolis Plaza with the Squid Sisters. Three cities and three idol groups now share the world.
Read the record - Side Order (Year 8.5)
Side Order: the Spire of Order
Agent 8 wakes in the bleached Order Sector of Marina's Memverse. With Pearl as a drone and Acht as a guide, she climbs the Spire of Order, defeats Parallel Canon and Smollusk, and brings the color back.
Read the record - Splatoon 3 (Year 9)
The Grand Festival: Past vs. Present vs. Future
The Squid Sisters (Past), Off the Hook (Present), and Deep Cut (Future) share a stage for the biggest Splatfest ever held. Team Past wins, and all three groups perform together.
Read the record