Nintendo will launch Splatoon Raiders on July 23 for the Nintendo Switch 2, bringing the first new entry in the Splatoon series since Splatoon 3 in 2022. The company also released a new trailer for the game this morning.
Splatoon Raiders is a single-player-focused spinoff, but Nintendo says it includes co-op elements that let players team up with up to three other people online or locally. The game sends players to the mysterious Spirhalite Islands with Deep Cut, where they can customize their appearance, equip mechanical gadgets and fire ink-splattering weapons while fighting hordes of aggressive sea creatures called Salmonids in search of treasure.
The announcement gives Nintendo another release to point to as it builds out its rest-of-year 2026 lineup, which also includes Yoshi and the Mysterious Book in May, Rhythm Heaven Grove in July and Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave with a release date still to be determined. Before this, that slate was looking very light, according to a report from The Verge.
For Nintendo, Splatoon Raiders does two jobs at once: it extends one of the company's most recognizable series and fills a gap in the Switch 2 calendar. The bigger question now is not whether the game arrives, but whether a spinoff that leans on solo play and limited co-op can keep the series in view until the next full Splatoon installment.