Splatoon Raiders Launches Today — Nintendo’s First Splatoon Spinoff Is a Major Switch 2 Moment

Today is a big day for Nintendo Switch 2 owners. Splatoon Raiders, the first-ever spin-off in the beloved Splatoon series, officially launches on July 23, 2026, exclusively for the Switch 2 — and early reviews suggest Nintendo has delivered something genuinely special. IGN and Nintendo Life both handed it a 9 out of 10, while the Metacritic aggregate settled at 81, placing it on par with the three mainline Splatoon entries. For a franchise making its first major genre departure, that’s an impressive landing.

What Makes Raiders Different From the Rest of the Series

Splatoon Raiders is not a competitive multiplayer shooter. Nintendo has taken the franchise in an entirely different direction with this one — Raiders is a story-driven, primarily single-player adventure set on the mysterious Spirhalite Islands, a tropical region overrun by Salmonid enemies. Players create their own Inkling or Octoling character and explore the islands alongside the fan-favourite Deep Cut crew — Shiver, Frye, and Big Man — building weapons and gadgets at a home base, upgrading equipment, and working through a narrative-driven campaign.

A four-player co-op mode is included alongside the main campaign, with the game’s difficulty scaling based on how many players are in the session. The structural shift away from Turf War and competitive play is a deliberate creative choice, and reviews suggest it pays off — though some critics noted that boss fights lean a little too heavily on damage-absorbing enemies rather than puzzle-based encounters.

Pricing, Editions and What Indian Switch 2 Players Should Know

The digital version is priced at $49.99 and the physical edition at $59.99 — there’s no Deluxe Edition, no Collector’s Edition, and no season pass, which is increasingly unusual for a major Nintendo release in 2026 and has been noted positively by reviewers. Three new Deep Cut amiibo in Raiders-specific designs launch alongside the game today, each unlocking outfit options for the player character. The game unlocks at midnight local time, meaning Indian Switch 2 players can dive in tonight. Nintendo has also confirmed that a Splatoon 4 mainline entry remains in the pipeline — Raiders is a standalone creative detour, not a replacement for the series’ competitive identity.