Nintendo has confirmed that Splatoon Raiders will launch on July 23, 2026, exclusively for Switch 2. This work was first announced in a Nintendo Direct in June 2025. About 10 months later, the official finally gave a clear release date. Different from the past positioning of the series that emphasized multiplayer PvP, the current public information of “Splatoon Raiders” clearly points to “an action shooting game focused on single-player gameplay.”
New 3-minute trailer released: character customization, map exploration, and resource creation, combat devices are the main focus
This time, the scheduled release news also brings a new trailer of about 3 minutes. At the beginning of the video, the character customization content is shown, including the Inkling shape and hairstyle that the player can choose. Then the focus is on the single-player loop: the player character fights different enemies, gradually uncovers areas of the map, and uses the obtained resources to create a variety of devices that can assist in combat. Judging from the current public content, the rhythm this time is more inclined to the combination of “single player advancement + resource management + combat tool matching”.
Started in 2015 and released in the third generation in 2022, “Splatoon Raiders” turns to the single-player side story route
The “Splatoon” series premiered on Wii U in May 2015. The first game scored 81 on OpenCritic’s Top Critic Average. Later, “Splatoon 2” was released on Switch, and “Splatoon 3” was launched in September 2022, becoming the latest official game in the current series. “Splatoon Raiders” has changed to a single-player orientation this time, which can also be regarded as a new branch of this IP under the Switch 2 generation.
Only Splatoon Raiders and Rhythm Heaven Groove have official dates
The report also mentioned Nintendo’s summer release list proposed by previous whistleblower NateTheHate in March. At this stage, it has been officially confirmed that “Rhythm Heaven Groove” will be launched on July 2nd, while “Splatoon Raiders” will be released on July 23rd, both falling in the summer.
As for other works on the list (such as the new game Star Fox, the Switch 2 version of Switch Sports/Pikmin 4, and the final release date of Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave), there is still no complete official confirmation.