Nintendo has finally put a date on Splatoon Raiders, and yup, this one is heading straight for Nintendo Switch 2.
The newly released trailer confirms that Splatoon Raiders will launch on July 23. Unlike the mainline Splatoon games, this is being positioned as a single-player spinoff in Nintendo’s colourful squid-kid shooter universe. The trailer shows off a mix of gadgets, weapons, and familiar Splatoon-style characters, giving fans a clearer idea of how this side adventure will play compared to the usual online turf war chaos.
For Malaysian and SEA players, that single-player angle is actually a pretty big deal. Splatoon has always been beloved, but its strongest identity is online multiplayer — which means your experience can depend a lot on matchmaking, connection quality, and how active the regional player base is. A dedicated solo-focused Splatoon game could be way easier to enjoy casually, especially if you’re picking it up on Switch 2 without needing to sweat through every match.
The trailer also brings some extra collector bait: three new amiibo based on Deep Cut members Frye, Shiver, and Big Man. In Splatoon Raiders, the trio appear as swashbuckling musicians, which sounds exactly like the kind of weird-but-stylish nonsense Splatoon fans love. These amiibo are set to ship on the same day as the game, so July 23 is looking like a proper wallet damage day for collectors.
If you’re in Malaysia, the amiibo part is probably where things get tricky. Nintendo fans here already know the drill — stock can be inconsistent, prices can jump fast, and depending on where you buy, you may be dealing with imports, local game shops, or marketplace sellers. If Deep Cut is your favourite Splatoon group, this is the kind of release you’ll want to track early instead of waiting until resale prices go gila.
Splatoon Raiders also arrives at an interesting point for the series. Splatoon 3 launched back in September 2022 and was a massive hit in Japan, selling 3.45 million copies in its first three days there. Nintendo later announced in September 2024 that the game would stop receiving regular updates, though it has still received updates after the Switch 2 launched in June 2025.
That makes Raiders feel less like a random side project and more like Nintendo keeping the Splatoon universe active for the Switch 2 era. It may not replace the competitive energy of Splatoon 3, but it could give fans a fresh way to explore the world, characters, and style without being locked into multiplayer grind.
For SEA fans who love Splatoon’s music, fashion, lore, and character design as much as the shooting, this one is worth watching. A single-player spinoff with Deep Cut front and centre? That is very much the kind of Nintendo weirdness we sign up for.
Source: Anime News Network