While Splatoon Raiders looks like a pivot from Nintendo’s competitive multiplayer-focused franchise, a producer on the series confirmed that PvP gameplay in Splatoon will endure, even uttering the phrase “Splatoon 4” in an interview.
Nintendo’s Ask the Developer feature (per Nintendo Life) included a question that straight-up asked producer Seita Inoue why a spin-off is the franchise’s next entry instead of a proper Splatoon 4. Inoue clarified that though Raiders is a markedly different game, Nintendo will “continue to develop competitive gameplay going forward.”
In short, the reasons for creating Raiders “as a spin-off and not as ‘Splatoon 4′” came from Nintendo’s desire to create “something with a slightly different approach to gameplay” and “a new entry point into the series,” according to Inoue.
Citing the PvE Salmon Run mode from Splatoon 2 and 3 and the single-player story modes in all three mainline games, Inoue emphasized that the series “isn’t just about competitive play.”
In Inoue’s words, Nintendo has been “going full speed ahead for over 11 years since the series’ launch, developing and updating three titles along the way.” Splatoon 3 was a sales hit when it launched in 2022, so making a fourth, traditional Splatoon game as a Switch 2 exclusive is an easy prediction to make. These comments from Splatoon developers only solidify the possibility further.
GameSpot’s Splatoon Raiders review calls it “loads of fun,” with “a single-player campaign that’s much more satisfying than its past attempts to inject a story campaign into the main games.” The Switch 2 game releases on July 23.
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