Choose a raid and difficulty
Select Tourist, Raider or Survivalist. Difficulty changes combat strength, not the quality of your loot.
Nintendo Switch 2 · Releases July 23, 2026
Splatoon Raiders Guide:
Splatoon Raiders Guide:
Tanks, Gadgets & Co-op
Choose the right Tank, find compatible Gadgets, understand multiplayer, and get ready for your first raid. Every answer is checked against Nintendo’s current game information.
Official release trailerNintendo
July 23, 2026
Release date
Switch 2 only
Platform
1–4 players
Solo, online or local wireless
3 difficulties
Change them at any time
Start here
Splatoon Raiders guides and tools
Go straight to the answer you need. Compare your loadout, prepare for a first raid, check co-op requirements, or watch official gameplay with written takeaways.
Tanks & Gadgets Explorer
Compare Speed, Power and Tactical Tanks, then filter the nine officially detailed Gadgets.
Splatoon Raiders Beginner Guide
Choose a difficulty, build a simple loadout and know what to upgrade after your first raid.
Multiplayer & Co-op Guide
See how online co-op, local wireless and Call for Help work before inviting friends.
Gameplay Video Guides
Watch verified footage and scan our notes instead of searching through a full video.
The basic loop
How Splatoon Raiders gameplay works
Splatoon Raiders is a single-player-focused action shooter built around repeatable expeditions. You explore the Spirhalite Islands with Deep Cut, fight Salmonids, recover treasure, and use that haul to make the next raid easier.
Fight and explore
Use ink weapons, Tank-specific Gadgets and your Bot Buddy to handle Salmonid groups and reach hidden areas.
Collect treasure and salvage
Pick up Power Eggs, Spirhalite materials, Gadget Parts, weapons and rare Salmonid Relics during the run.
Upgrade at the Hideout Ship
Return to the hub to improve weapons, craft or enhance Gadgets, and develop your home base before raiding again.
Useful solo rule: Nintendo says you keep what you collect on solo raids even when a run goes wrong. Pick a comfortable difficulty and learn the systems without worrying about better loot being locked behind harder combat.
Pick a playstyle
Splatoon Raiders Tanks: Speed vs Power vs Tactical
Your Tank decides which specialized Gadgets you can equip. Start with the style that solves your biggest problem: movement, close-range pressure or battlefield control. You can swap Tanks between missions.
Speed Tank
Mobility, fast attacks and evasive movement.
Use movement-focused Gadgets to enter, escape and reposition quickly.
Power Tank
Direct attacks, armor breaking and crowd pressure.
Meet Salmonid swarms head-on with close-range and area attacks.
Tactical Tank
Deployables, traps and battlefield control.
Set up tools that keep attacking or control space while you move.
Build your loadout
Splatoon Raiders Gadgets, weapons and Relic Powers
A useful loadout is more than a high-rarity weapon. Your Tank, Gadgets, Gadget Parts, Relic Powers and Bot Buddy all cover different jobs.
Gadgets and Gadget Parts
Gadgets are active abilities with cooldowns. Each belongs to a Tank category, while Parts can change values such as damage, range, duration or quantity within the available Slot cost.
See all confirmed Gadgets →Weapons, levels and rarity
Splatoon Raiders includes more than 100 weapon variants. Weapons can have different levels, rarities and passive effects, so compare the full roll and how it fits your Tank instead of judging only by the weapon name.
Understand the weapon system →Salmonid Relics and passive powers
Relics are rare treasure that provide unusual powers, including movement-changing abilities. Treat them as a separate passive layer alongside your Tank, weapon and active Gadgets.
Read the Relic Powers overview →Hideout Ship upgrades
The Hideout Ship is your between-raid hub. Use recovered salvage to level weapons, craft Gadgets, improve gear and develop the base before choosing the next expedition.
See what the Hideout Ship does →Play your way
Splatoon Raiders co-op, difficulty and amiibo
These are the practical setup questions to answer before launch or before bringing friends into a raid.
Is Splatoon Raiders multiplayer?
Yes. The campaign is designed around solo play, but up to four players can raid together online or through local wireless. Online play requires a Nintendo Switch Online membership.
Check every co-op mode →Which difficulty should you choose?
Tourist is best for learning, Raider is the middle setting, and Survivalist is for harder combat. You can change difficulty at any time, and it does not change loot rewards.
Choose your starting difficulty →What do Splatoon amiibo unlock?
Compatible Splatoon-series amiibo unlock outfits for the Mechanic. The Shiver, Frye and Big Man Raiders figures launch alongside the game and are sold separately.
Check amiibo and release details →Watch and learn
Splatoon Raiders gameplay videos
Watch official gameplay, then use our written summary to find the Tanks, Gadgets and systems shown in each video.
Official
Overview
Splatoon Raiders — Overview Trailer
Nintendo’s eight-minute overview introduces the story, raid loop, gear, Bot Buddies, Salmonids, difficulty settings, multiplayer and amiibo support.
By Nintendo of America
Official
Direct
Splatoon Raiders Direct — Gameplay Systems Explained
Nintendo’s dedicated presentation is the clearest overview of raids, Tanks, Gadgets, weapon drops, upgrades, difficulty and co-op.
By Nintendo of America
Official
Gameplay
Nintendo Treehouse: Live — Splatoon Raiders
Nintendo’s extended post-Direct demonstration shows longer raid segments, menus, combat decisions and the pace of normal gameplay.
By Nintendo of America
Quick answers
Splatoon Raiders FAQ
What is Splatoon Raiders?
It is a single-player-focused Splatoon spin-off for Nintendo Switch 2. You play as the Mechanic, explore the Spirhalite Islands with Deep Cut, fight Salmonids, collect treasure and improve your gear between raids.
When does Splatoon Raiders release?
The release date is July 23, 2026. It is exclusive to Nintendo Switch 2.
Which Splatoon Raiders Tank is best?
There is no single best Tank for every player. Choose Speed for mobility, Power for direct close-range fighting, or Tactical for ranged tools and battlefield control. Your preferred Gadgets should decide the final choice.
Can you play the full game in co-op?
Nintendo says players can join raids online or through local wireless, with up to three friends. The game remains single-player focused, and specific joining and reward rules are explained in our multiplayer guide.
Does harder difficulty give better loot?
No. Tourist, Raider and Survivalist change combat difficulty, but Nintendo states that difficulty does not affect the loot you can receive.
How many Gadgets are confirmed?
Nintendo has publicly detailed nine Gadgets across the three Tanks. Our explorer lists only confirmed names and effects; it does not present trailer guesses as a complete database.
How we verify this page: Gameplay and feature claims are checked against the official Nintendo product page and current official footage. Preview observations are kept separate from confirmed rules. Last reviewed July 22, 2026.