Splatoon Raiders
A single-player spinoff set on the Spirhalite Islands.
Splatoon Raiders, a third-person shooter for the Nintendo Switch 2, launched in 2026 as the series' first spinoff and fourth game. Players control a mechanic exploring the remote Spirhalite Islands with Deep Cut, fighting hostile Salmonids for treasure.
Quick Facts
- Publisher
- Nintendo
- Series
- Splatoon
- Platforms
- Nintendo Switch 2
- Released
- July 23, 2026
- Genre
- Third-person shooter, action role-playing
- Modes
- Single-player, multiplayer
- Producer
- Seita Inoue
- Director
- Yoshihiko Ito
Facts from the source article.
Synopsis
The Splatoon series is set 12,000 years in the future on a post-apocalyptic Earth where marine animals have evolved into humanoid forms such as Inklings and Octolings. The city of Splatsville accrues a debt of over $60 billion amid reports of the fabled Spirhalite Islands resurfacing due to tectonic shifts. Shiver, Frye, and Big Man of Deep Cut hire the Mechanic to fly them to the archipelago via helicopter to sell its treasure and pay off the debt. The crew spots a golden glow encircled by spiralling clouds at the islands' center; the glow abruptly pulsates and attracts the helicopter and surrounding fog into the center, forcing a crash landing.
Development
Splatoon Raiders was conceived during the later period of Splatoon 3's content update cycle, inspired by the cooperative Salmon Run mode. The team wanted a dedicated single-player version of Salmon Run, feeling adapted gameplay would be hectic yet exhilarating, and sought to use the Switch 2's higher processing power to increase the number of Salmonids. Producer Seita Inoue stated the game was envisioned as an entry point for newcomers, leveraging non-competitive features. Early design included equippable traps akin to tower defense, but this was rejected as too passive. The team instead developed a gadget system offering dynamic movement and combat options, aiming for satisfaction in optimizing strategies against large hordes. Sound director Shu Tamura found it challenging to make the complexity understandable through sound. Golden Eggs were retained but the need to deposit them was removed to emphasize gadgets. Difficulty settings and online assistance were added for accessibility.
Release
Splatoon Raiders was announced on the Nintendo Today app on June 10, 2025, alongside a new Splatoon 3 update. A trailer on April 21, 2026 revealed the July 23, 2026 release date. A gameplay trailer aired during a Nintendo Direct on June 9, with a dedicated Raiders Direct scheduled for June 30. Promotional tie-ins included Deep Cut-themed Joy-Con 2 controllers and a Splatfest event in Splatoon 3 from July 10 to 12. Daily comic strips ran on Nintendo Today from June 23 to July 23. Playable demos were available at San Diego Comic-Con from July 23 to 26.
Reception
Splatoon Raiders received generally favorable reviews on Metacritic, with 88% of critics recommending it on OpenCritic. Gameplay was deemed enjoyably frenetic and engaging; Christian Donlan of Eurogamer likened it to contemporary Doom titles and Donkey Kong Bananza. Logan Plant of IGN praised its experimentation mechanics, difficulty curve, and roguelike mission structure. Alex Onley of Nintendo Life lauded new Salmonid variations and the Spicy mode's replay value, but felt the game did little to reinvent the core Splatoon formula. Steve Watts of GameSpot called it a flexible addition to the series. The Guardian gave a 2 out of 5, stating it was similar to many modern cooperative action games. As of July 27, 2026, it ranked in the top 10 highest-rated user-reviewed Metacritic games with a user score of 9.3/10, and was the highest-rated user-reviewed Nintendo game on the site. It debuted at No. 1 in Japanese and UK sales charts.
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