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Nintendo is a company that, despite being the largest independent gaming company on the planet, is prone to fanciful whims at times. They do things at their own pace and in their own way. Sometimes that is waiting more than eight years before they launch a sequel to the Switch, and sometimes it is announcing a spin-off to Splatoon 3 for the Switch 2 via their mobile app – as well as an upgrade to the base game for the Switch 2.

That’s right – the Nintendo Today! app, which we’re guessing large chunks of you have never even heard of, was the place where news of Splatoon Raiders first dropped. Splatoon Raiders is the first Splatoon spin-off game, putting players into the role of a mechanic on an adventure with Splatoon 3’s Deep Cut trio in the mysterious Spirhalite Islands.

That’s all the information we have on the gameplay, though some footage did come with the announcement. Splatoon Raiders is coming to the Switch 2 at an unconfirmed release date. However, fans of the series can rest easy knowing that Splatoon 3 is getting a new upgrade on June 12, which will feature new weapons and a stage from the original Splatoon added to the stage rotation. The bigger news is that Splatoon 3 is getting an update for the Nintendo Switch 2, giving upgraded visuals for the new console.

Again, this announcement was made early on Tuesday but wasn’t picked up by major outlets because it was just dropped onto the Nintendo Today! app, which I had never even heard of until right now and I work as a video game journalist. (Don’t tell my editors.) It highlights just how weirdly haphazard Nintendo can be with announcements. We’re a few days after Summer Games Fest 2025 – a Splatoon spin-off would have gone down well during the show. But no. Let’s toss this announcement of a new Splatoon game onto the news feed of their app. That’ll get people talking.

And, apparently, they’re right because here we are.

You don't need to beat the game to prepare for the next one—here are all the major new and upcoming games coming our way.