Splatoon 3 player count reportedly grew in 2026 after Raiders reveal

A single-player route into Splatoon

The broader interview helps explain why Nintendo sees the two games as complementary. Director Yoshihiko Ito said Raiders began as an attempt to turn the cooperative Salmon Run idea into a game that one person could play. The team also wanted to make something for people interested in Splatoon who might be reluctant to start with online multiplayer.

That led to a spinoff built around the series' familiar movement and ink-based feel while changing the surrounding structure. The developers describe Raiders as an entry point for first-time players, not a replacement for Splatoon 3's competitive and cooperative modes.

Both games kept moving

Development on Raiders overlapped with continuing work on Splatoon 3. In the interview, Inoue said planning began around the time of Splatoon 3's Grand Festival, while the older game continued to receive balance changes and other updates. That parallel work gives the studio a practical reason to watch whether interest travels between the releases.

Inoue said the team intends to keep trying new things without losing the elements it considers essential to Splatoon. For now, the reported increase is a directional claim from the producer rather than a public set of usage statistics.