Nintendo dropped the Splatoon Raiders release date and a fresh trailer through the Nintendo Today app, and if you weren't already hyped for a single-player Splatoon game, the ink axe alone should change your mind. Mark July 23, 2026 on your calendar.
The announcement came quietly, the same way the original reveal did back in 2025: a push notification through the Nintendo Today app rather than a proper Nintendo Direct. It's a bit of an unconventional rollout for what looks like a genuinely exciting game, but here we are.
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A new setting away from Inkopolis
Splatoon Raiders takes place on the Spirhalite Islands, a brand-new location that puts distance between this game and the multiplayer-heavy world most Splatoon fans know. You play as an Inkling mechanic who teams up with Deep Cut, including Big Man now piloting a mech suit, to explore the islands and hunt for treasure. The Salmonid enemies are back as the primary threat, with the trailer showing both returning faces and new variants spread across what looks like a sprawling open map.
The single-player focus is the key here. Nintendo has always bolted story modes onto Splatoon games as a side dish, but Raiders appears to be building the whole meal around it.
Weapons that go well beyond a paint roller
Here's the thing: the weapon system in Raiders looks like a significant step up from anything the series has done before. Because your character is a mechanic, the game leans into crafting and upgrading weapons rather than just swapping them out from a shop.
The new trailer alone packed in a lot:
- An ink axe mounted to the back of the ink tank, used to absolutely demolish a group of enemies
- A sniper turret the player sets up mid-combat
- What appears to be a live shark (not the Reefslider ability, an actual shark) used to barrel through a crowd of Salmonids
- A spinning ink disc shield that shreds anything that wanders too close
Some shots show ink tanks with three or four separate attachments, which suggests the customization system has real depth. Weapon attributes like attack power and movement speed appear to be tunable as well, though the full scope of that system hasn't been detailed yet.
The trailer was released via the Nintendo Today app on April 21, 2026, nearly a year after the game's original announcement through the same channel.
What we still don't know about fashion and gear
One area the trailer left mostly untouched is the fashion system. Splatoon's gear and clothing options have always been a big part of the appeal, and the Spirhalite Islands setting (a deserted island treasure hunt, essentially) makes it less clear whether the usual boutique-style wardrobe will be present. The Inklings in the trailer do wear different outfits across various scenes, but nothing that looks like the curated streetwear players are used to. Nintendo hasn't addressed this directly yet.
Where Raiders fits in Nintendo's summer
The July 23 date slots Splatoon Raiders into a Nintendo summer that's already taking shape. Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is due in May, and Rhythm Heaven Groove lands July 2. Both The Duskbloods and Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave are still on the 2026 schedule without firm dates. No new mainline Pokemon game is expected this November, which makes Raiders one of the bigger second-half releases Nintendo has confirmed so far.
For Splatoon fans who dropped off the multiplayer grind, a full single-player game with this level of weapon variety is exactly the kind of entry point back in. Keep an eye on our gaming news as Nintendo gets closer to launch and presumably reveals more about the gear system and full map scope. For deeper coverage on Nintendo's upcoming lineup, check out our latest reviews as release dates firm up across the board.
