Splatoon 3 Demo Server Tick Rate Is Apparently 30% Slower Than Original’s
Everyone got their first hands-on taste of Splatoon 3’s online this weekend with the Splatfest World Premiere demo. In the first Splatfest for Splatoon 3, Team Rock snatched victory, but for some, winning wasn’t the goal — simply trying out the new modes and the online was enough. Some even wanted to know what the server tick rates were like!
Splatoon dataminer OatmealDome has shared their findings of the demo’s tick rate (thanks, My Nintendo News!). Tick rate is measured in hertz and records how many times per second information is updated. And — for the demo version, at least — Splatoon 3’s comes in a 16Hz.
Now, that sounds pretty low — especially when most online games have refresh rates of around 30 or 60Hz with some going well beyond that — but this is actually around the same as Splatoon 2’s tick rate. You can compare the two Switch ink-splatting games below.
The really interesting part is that this is actually slower than the original Splatoon’s tick rate. The Wii U game had a tick rate of 25hz, meaning Splatoon 3 is around 30% slower than the first game. At least, based on the demo.
One Twitter user asked OatmealDome if there were any benefits to having a slower tick rate, and apparently, it does! It reduces the bandwidth requirements for online connections by reducing transmission rates.
But really, the big takeaway here is that this is just based on the demo. OatmealDome says they need to test the full game to come up with a more accurate tick rate for Splatoon 3, so the final release may be a bit faster.
Splatoon 3’s demo allowed us all to try out a few new weapons, a new map, and the new Tricolor Turf War, which we’d love to know what you think of. So check out our poll and vote to share your thoughts:
How do you feel about this slower tick rate in Splatoon 3? Did you have any issues playing online? Let us know!