With the forthcoming launch of Splatoon 2 just over two weeks away, Nintendo is stoking the marketing flame and has announced a Nintendo Direct event for July 6. The Nintendo Direct livestream, the first in the West since the Nintendo Spotlight for E3 2017, will be wholly focused on Splatoon 2. The Nintendo Switch exclusive, a full sequel to the popular multiplayer shooter for the Nintendo Wii U, launches July 21, so expect Nintendo to go all out.

Exactly what Nintendo plans to reveal during the Splatoon 2 Nintendo Direct isn't clear, but the company did drop a couple hints on social media. The text of the posts on both Twitter and Facebook says to expect a "re-FRESH-er," which implies that Nintendo will be reintroducing familiar features from the original Splatoon or just meme-ing.

The other, less pun-ishing hint from Nintendo is much more constructive: fans can expect "new features" to be introduced during the Nintendo Direct. While ambiguous, Nintendo's tease is at least better than nothing.

The last time that Splatoon 2 was shown to the public, which was during the Nintendo Treehouse livestream at E3 2017, Nintendo covered a lot of ground. Turf War, the game mode featured in Splatoon 2's first Global Testfire event, was shown once again. Splatoon 2's single-player mode was also featured at length. But the star of the show was Salmon Run, a very Nintendo take on the classic Horde Mode which pits a cooperative group against waves of enemies. That is to say, a lot of cool new features have already been shown from Splatoon 2.

What's left for Nintendo to show during Splatoon 2's Nintendo Direct? There are several expectations that fans are hoping Nintendo delivers on during the event. The first is lots and lots of weapons and customization options. Every squid and every kid deserves to show their colorful personality in Splatoon 2, and Nintendo's likely to deliver. Another multiplayer game mode is likely to be shown, since Turf War, Rainmaker, and the other Splatoon carry-overs alone might be a bit disappointing.

But the biggest announcement Nintendo could make - the reveal that would certain to be met with much cheering and excitement - is another Global Testfire prior to the launch of Splatoon 2. With the Nintendo Direct being shown two weeks in advance of Splatoon 2's launch, that leaves plenty of time for one more weekend Splatoon 2 Global Testfire. And since the first one was a bit overwhelmed with technical issues, a smooth pre-launch event would sate worries and build hype immensely.

Tune into the Splatoon 2 Nintendo Direct on Thursday, July 6, starting at 7:00am PT. There's no word on how long the pre-recorded Direct will last, but they typically go anywhere between 10-30 minutes.

Splatoon 2 launches on July 21 exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.