Nintendostill has some gaps to fill on its 2025 calendar with release dates forMetroid Prime 4andKirby Air Ridersyet to be announced. However, a retail listing forSplatoon Raidersmay have revealed that Nintendo also plans to find room for the unlikely spinoff before the end of the year.
Bluesky account Nintendo Patents Watch(viaGoNintendo) spotted a Malaysian retail listing for Splatoon Raiders that may have revealed new details about the game. Those details include a 2025 release window.Nintendo revealed the Splatoon spinoff out of nowherelast month, sharing details on the Nintendo Today app.
Splatoon Raiders might be here before the end of 2025
Nintendo didn’t even give Splatoon Raiders a release window, simply promising to reveal more details soon. The trailer itself was very bare bones, and it was confirmed to be aNintendo Switch 2exclusive. All of that suggested toSplatoonfans that Raiders is still a long way off, likely launching in 2026, but maybe not.
The listing also revealed more details about what the game actually is, although in fairness, the checklist is filled with things most of us likely assumed from context based on the little we’ve seen of the game so far. Its focus will be on adventure and exploration, and will have the player completing quests.
The timing of the leak made me think we might see more of Splatoon Raiders and get an official release date reveal during the rumored Nintendo Direct. However, Nintendo has now confirmed that Direct is real and will take place tomorrow, but it will be dedicated to Nintendo’s partners. That means it’s unlikely, although not impossible, that Splatoon Raiders will be a part of the proceedings due to its first party status.
If Raiders is coming before the end of 2025, we can now attempt to piece together the Switch 2 launch calendar through the end of 2025, assuming Nintendo sticks to its one big first party release per month strategy.Drag x Drive is coming in August, andPokemon Legends: Z-Ais confirmed to be its big game in October.
That leaves three months left to fill, and here’s how I think it’s going to go. Metroid Prime 4 in September, Splatoon Raiders in November, and Kirby Air Riders ending the year in December. That leavesHyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonmentin limbo, but Nintendo slapped a winter release on that one, which means it could feasibly be the Switch 2’s big January 2026 release.
