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Published on July 1st, 2026 | by Adrian Gunning

Splatoon Raiders Direct Spills The Ink On The Treasure-Filled Adventure Coming To Nintendo Switch 2

During today’s Splatoon Raiders Direct presentation, Nintendo dished up fresh news about Splatoon Raiders, which launches exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2 on 23rd July.

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 venture out into the mysterious Spirhalite Islands in search of treasure. Customise 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 will even 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 the Nintendo AU YouTube channel.

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 facilities where 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’s tools 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 leap back and retreat, at high speed, Dash Bomb to launch forward, sideways or backward with a bomb explosion, and the Booyarang to throw and strike 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 with ink 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.
  • Customise and Build: The true value of your gadgets comes from how you customise 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 by cataloguing all sorts of useful info and more. Build facilities that can be used to further optimise 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 upgrade your 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 figures*1 from the Splatoon series, 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. The loot 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 up with up to three other players online*2 or via local wireless*3 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. You can also 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 be bottomless. Gear up for a fresh adventure and get your tentacles on treasure galore. Splatoon Raiders surfaces on Nintendo Switch 2 on 23rd July.

In the meantime, you can dive into more ink-spattered fun. Check out Deep Cut’s Island Misadventures, official daily Splatoon comics exclusively on the Nintendo Today! smart device app*4, for the story leading up to Splatoon Raiders. Get ready for the upcoming collaboration Splatfest themed around Splatoon Raiders, coming to Splatoon 3 starting 11th July at 10:00am AEST / 12:00pm NZST to 13th July at 10:00am AEST / 12:00pm NZST. Also, keep an eye out for new Joy-Con 2 controller colours – Blue and Light Yellow – inspired by Deep Cut, launching the same day as the game.

Today’s Splatoon Raiders Direct presentation featured news about Splatoon Raiders, which launches exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2 on 23rd July. In the single-player-focused shooter, players can hunt for treasure and fight off swarms of Salmonids with a plethora of weapons, customisable gadgets, tanks and upgrades, and more.




About the Author

Adrian lives in Melbourne Australia and has a huge passion for gaming, technology and pop culture. He recently finished his a Bachelor of Journalism and is currently focusing on games journalism. When not writing and playing video games, Adrian can be found in Comics 'R' Us debating the pros of the DC Universe and cons of the Marvel Universe.


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