Nintendo’s dedicated Splatoon Raiders Direct aired this morning — it’s late Tuesday night in Singapore right now, 22:00 SGT — and at just 23 days out from the 23 July launch, the 15-minute presentation went deep on the systems, environments, and co-op mechanics that make this Switch 2 exclusive unlike anything the Splatoon series has attempted before. Here’s everything that was shown.
Splatoon’s First Proper Spin-Off
Splatoon Raiders is the franchise’s first full standalone spin-off — and the first entry to put single-player front and centre rather than bolting it on as an afterthought. You play as a fully customisable mechanic, either an Inkling or an Octoling, who washes up on the mysterious Spirhalite Islands alongside Deep Cut, Splatoon 3’s beloved trio of Shiver, Frye, and Big Man. The goal: hunt treasure, battle Salmonids, and uncover whatever secrets the islands are hiding.
Each raid sees one member of Deep Cut ride along inside an Exploration Bot as your AI companion, contributing to combat. The story behind the crew’s partnership is being told through a chapter-a-day comic series exclusive to the Nintendo Today! app, running from 23 June all the way to launch day. If you haven’t been following those, they’re well worth catching up on before the game drops.
Raiding Across the Spirhalite Islands
The Dungeon Menu is your campaign map: a top-down archipelago of islands, each with multiple raid sites at varying difficulty tiers. Islands confirmed in screenshots include Tygoru, Erpp, and Lehlo — each visually distinct and housing different enemy compositions. You pick a site, load in, and push as deep as you can to retrieve treasure.
Crucially, the game supports co-op for up to four players, both locally and online. Difficulty scales with party size, so bringing three friends along turns a manageable dungeon into a proper group challenge. For Singapore players, that’s Switch 2 local wireless if your squad is in the same room, or online play for anyone spread across the island.
Combat, Gadgets, and the Crafting Loop
Combat keeps Splatoon’s ink-shooter identity but layers on a full RPG progression system — damage numbers, enemy health pools, and persistent loot. The core crafting loop runs on Spirhalite Shards (mined from ore nodes across each island) and Salmonid equipment dropped by defeated enemies, both of which feed into upgrading your Gadgets.
Gadgets are a new weapon class: deployable, upgradeable sub-weapons that you can slot two of at a time. Each Gadget accepts Gadget Parts dropped by specific enemy types, unlocking expanded range, power, or entirely new effects. Separately, Salmonid relics found during raids grant passive combat abilities that layer on top of your Gadgets — meaning build variety is a genuine part of the loop.
The Upgrade Tank System
The Direct’s clearest reveal of the game’s progression depth was the Upgrade Tanks screen. Stats you can upgrade include HP, Weapon Damage, Gadget Damage, and Gadget Part Slots — the last of which determines how many parts you can attach to each Gadget. Screenshots show Part Slots moving from 14 to 16 with one upgrade, giving a sense of the granularity on offer. Upgrades cost Skill Points, and a “Limiter Release” system lets you break through upgrade ceilings by spending additional points.
Underground Dungeons and Cave Raids
One of the most striking pieces of footage was the underground dungeon content — cave environments that are visually and mechanically distinct from the overworld islands. The cave raid screenshots show denser Salmonid encounters in close-quarters, darker spaces, complete with different enemy types not seen in outdoor areas. These dungeons appear to serve as the high-difficulty endgame content for each island.
Accessories, Amiibo, and the Splatoon 3 Splatfest
Three pieces of related content launch on or around 23 July:
- Deep Cut Joy-Con 2 — a blue-and-yellow controller set themed around Shiver, Frye, and Big Man, launching 23 July alongside the game.
- Deep Cut amiibo — individual figures of all three members at US$24.99 each. Nintendo has not yet detailed their in-game functionality.
- Splatoon 3 Splatfest — a Raiders-themed Splatfest runs 10–12 July, giving Splatoon 3 players on the original Switch a taste of the new game’s energy before launch.
When Singapore Gets It
Splatoon Raiders is a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive launching globally on 23 July 2026. The digital edition is listed at US$49.99 on the US Nintendo eShop, with the physical edition at US$59.99; check the Singapore Nintendo eShop for local SGD pricing. Physical copies will be available at major game retailers and electronics chains from launch day. For a look at all things Switch 2, browse our Game News coverage.
