REDMOND, Wash., June 30, 2026 – Duringtoday’s Splatoon Raiders Direct presentation, Nintendo dished up fresh news about the SplatoonRaiders game, which launches exclusively for the NintendoSwitch 2 system on July 23.
In this single-player-focused action-shooter, you play as a mechanic working with Deep Cut — a trio of swashbuckling musicians named Shiver, Frye and Big Man — and ventureout into the mysterious Spirhalite Islands in search of treasure. Customize your character, kit yourself out with ink-splattering weapons and mechanical gadgets, and take on waves of enemy Salmonids as you raid the islands for loot. A member of Deep Cut willeven join you in a powerful Exploration Bot, which can help detect treasure among other useful functions. Gear up aboard the hideout ship, and head out to uncover the mysteries of the islands as you search out its undiscovered spoils.
To view the Splatoon Raiders Direct in its entirety, visit: https://www.nintendo.com/us/nintendo-direct/6-30-2026/.Read on for more details from today’s presentation:
- Treasure Hunting – The Spirhalite Islands feature varied terrain and environments, teeming with challenges, enemies and treasure. There are areas with Spirhalite crystals to mine, dens swarming with aggressive creatures called Salmonids, strange facilitieswhere only certain equipment is allowed and dungeons in which you’ll dig deeper underground.
- Salmonid Enemies: To reach the loot, you’ll have to get through these ferocious foes first. They lurk across the islands, crowd around treasure and attack anything that gets too close. There are many different types, including:
- Lesser Salmonids – These enemies aren’t much of a threat on their own, but they attack in hordes that can overwhelm you if you’re not careful.
- Boss Salmonids – These creatures present a beefier challenge, with their own strengths and weaknesses to uncover. Defeat Boss Salmonids, and they’ll drop a Mega Power Egg – a great energy source for the Bot.
- Seasoned Salmonids – These tough foes are the peak of Salmonid evolution! They are like Boss Salmonids but they’re well-seasoned (with salt), and it seems like the saltier the Salmonid the tougher they are to overcome. Good thing you’ll have the mechanic’stools of the trade at your disposal, including lots of weapons and gadgets to secure your treasures.
- Weapons – Weapons spray ink from your refillable tank and are essential for defeating Salmonids. With more than 100 weapon variations to discover, you’re bound to find something to roll with. Salmonids might drop a weapon when they’re defeated, and you might even find some rare weapons with special powers, too.
- Tanks and Gadgets: There are three types of tanks at your disposal: The Speed Tank, Power Tank and Tactical Tank. Each tank can be equipped with two gadgets to start, and the gadgets you can equip depend on the tank.
- Speed – Move quickly, fight fast and evade attacks with this tank. Gadgets include Blast Boot to leap forward and attack (or retreat) at high speed, Dash Bomb to launch forward, sideways or backward with a bomb explosion, and the Booyarang to throw andstrike enemies – it’ll also stay airborne for a bit before returning to you.
- Power – Overpower enemies and tackle swarms head-on with this tank. Charge into battle with gadgets like the Splatchet to perform a quick slash in a wide-sweeping arc and break through tough shields; Splatellites that spin around you and attack withink while coating the ground; and the Spinwheel, which swirls and sprays ink as you move forward, pushing back Salmonids that touch it and locking on to Boss Salmonids.
- Tactical – Fight more strategically with this tank! Gadgets suited for tactical play include the Shot Pot, a deployable turret, which can automatically attack enemies, Bombloons which can be linked together to create a big blast when you fire at them,and the Tether Wail, which connects to your tank with a powerful laser.
- Customize and Build – The true value of your gadgets comes from how you customize them. Collect gadget parts during island excursions and add them to available slots to upgrade your gadgets in several ways, like increased damage, fire rate, duration,or adding effects like ink explosions or knockback gas, and more. Plus, Shiver can help you craft new gadgets in the Gadget Workshop, Frye can assist with upgrading weapons or turning them into materials in the Weapon Stash, and Big Man will lend a fin bycataloging all sorts of useful info and more. Build facilities that can be used to further optimize your treasure-hunting toolkit.
- Levelling Up – There are plenty of ways to get stronger in Splatoon Raiders. You’ll level up by defeating Salmonids and you get to keep any weapons and salvage you find, even if you’re defeated during a raid. Use the spoils from your hunt to upgradeyour tanks at the Mechanic’s Shack and increase stats like attack power and HP. Tanks also gain other enhancements the more you use them, like being able to equip three gadgets instead of two.
- Additional Features: Here are a few more features covered in the presentation:
- Outfits – No matter where adventure takes you, looking stylish is essential. Complete challenges across the islands and you’ll obtain slick outfits with all sorts of designs. If you tap compatible amiibo figures1 from the Splatoonseries, you can get a unique outfit. And by tapping the new Splatoon Raiders amiibo figures, you can unlock a corresponding outfit inspired by the figure used.
- Difficulty Options – There are three difficulties to choose from: Tourist for a casual adventure, Raider for a standard experience, and Survivalist for veterans and challenge-seekers. You can change these options at any time on the hideout ship. Theloot will be the same for each, but Salmonids will be a lot tougher on higher difficulties.
- Multiplayer – This game can be fully enjoyed solo, but you can also team with up to three other players online2 or via local wireless3 to hunt for treasure and progress through the story together.
- Call for Help – Even when playing solo, you can request help from other players online for temporary aid. Once you’ve requested help and finished a raid, you’ll have to wait to use this feature again. Or lend a helping tentacle to answer someone else’s request and receive rewards in turn.
- Salmonid Relics – These Salmonid treasures are hidden around the Spirhalite Islands. Find them to discover their strange, hidden powers.
There are many unknown locales around the Spirhalite Islands, including deep underground, and some of them appear to bebottomless. Gear up for a fresh adventure and get your tentacles on treasure galore. Splatoon Raiders surfaces on Nintendo Switch 2 on July 23.
In the meantime, you can dive into more ink-spattered fun! Check out thisvideo for the “Quick Rundown” on the Splatoon series. Read Deep Cut’s Island Misadventures, official daily Splatoon comics exclusively on the NintendoToday! smart device app4, for the story leading up to Splatoon Raiders. Get ready for the upcoming collaboration Splatfest themed around Splatoon Raiders, coming to the Splatoon3 game starting July 10 at 5 p.m. PT through July 12 at 5 p.m. PT! Also keep an eye out for new Joy-Con2 controller colors inspired by Deep Cut, launching the same day as the game. For more information on Splatoon 3, Splatoon Raiders and all things inky visit https://splatoon.nintendo.com/base/.
Remember that Nintendo Switch 2 features parentalcontrols that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about otherfeatures, visithttps://www.nintendo.com/es-mx/gaming-systems/switch-2/.
1 amiibo sold separately. Visit amiibo.com for details on amiibo functionality.
2 Nintendo Switch Online membership (sold separately) and Nintendo Account required for online features. Membership auto-renews after initial term at the then-currentprice unless canceled. Not available in all countries. Internet access required for online features. Terms apply. nintendo.com/purchase-terms/
3 Additional games and systems required formultiplayer mode. Sold separately.
4 Nintendo Account, persistent internetand compatible smart device required. Data charges may apply.
About Nintendo: Nintendo Co., Ltd., headquartered in Kyoto, Japan, has been providing a wide range of entertainment products and experiences since its founding in 1889,beginning with the manufacture and sale of Hanafuda playing cards.
Since the 1983 release of the Family Computer (Famicom)system in Japan, and continuing through Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo’s focus has been the development, manufacturing, and sale of its gaming systems and software. To date, Nintendo has sold more than 6.1 billion video games and over 870 million hardware unitsglobally, and has created franchises such as Mario™, Donkey Kong™, The Legend of Zelda™, Pokémon™, Metroid™, Kirby™, Animal Crossing™, Pikmin™, and Splatoon™.
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