Nintendo has formally revoked the Splatoon 3 World Championship 2024 winning team’s title after racist messages sent by several of its members surfaced online.
This year’s Splatoon 3 World Championship was held in April, with six teams competing for the crown. North American team Jackpot was eventually named the winner, but the four-person group became embroiled in controversy this June, after Discord and social media chats showing some of its members engaging in racist behaviour began circulating on social media
And now, roughly six weeks later, Nintendo has officially rescinded Jackpot’s winning title, albeit without explicitly specifying the reason behind its decision.
“It has come to our attention,” the company wrote on social media, “that certain members of team Jackpot, the team that recently won the Splatoon 3 World Championship, acted in a manner that is not in line with our Community Guidelines while playing the Splatoon 3 game. As a result, team Jackpot’s win will be considered vacated, and the team will not receive trophies associated with the event.”
Nintendo additionally notes the Splashtag banner currently commemorating Jackpot’s win in Splatoon 3 will be “adjusted” in a future update. “Nintendo cares deeply about our player and our community,” it adds, “and we take our responsibility to uphold our Community Guidelines seriously.”
This year’s Splatoon 3 World Championship was initially due to be held during January’s Nintendo Live 2024, but the event was cancelled to “ensure the safety of our customers” after Nintendo received a message threatening to “kill the people at the venue”.
In April, a 27-year-old man was charged with sending the message – one of 39 death threats he’s said to have sent to Nintendo via the company’s online inquiry form.