Splatoon Raiders, Angel Next Door: Memorial Vacation Headline Japan’s July 23 Slate
Japan’s July 23 release slate is dominated by two very different games launching on the same day: Nintendo’s single-player Splatoon spin-off Splatoon Raiders and MAGES.’s visual novel The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten: Memorial Vacation. Both titles arrive on Nintendo Switch 2 hardware, alongside a wider slate that includes the Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster, according to Nintendo’s official Japanese eShop schedule.
Nintendo updated the Japanese Switch and Switch 2 release schedule on eShop for the week of July 23, 2026, with various new titles highlighted by Splatoon Raiders, Final Fantasy 10/10-2 HD Remaster, and more. It’s an unusually stacked Thursday for Nintendo’s home platform, pairing a brand-new action spin-off with a decade-old JRPG remaster and a licensed romance visual novel.
Splatoon Raiders Ditches Turf Wars for a Single-Player Treasure Hunt
Splatoon Raiders is an upcoming third-person shooter developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch 2, the first spinoff of the Splatoon series, set to release on July 23, 2026. Unlike the mainline entries, Raiders is primarily single-player and story-focused, with players choosing to be either an Inkling or an Octoling.
Players take on the role of a mechanic working with Deep Cut — the trio of swashbuckling musicians Shiver, Frye and Big Man — venturing into the mysterious Spirhalite Islands to customise their character, kit out with mechanical gadgets and ink-flinging weapons, and take on waves of enemies called Salmonids. According to Nintendo’s own storefront listing, the game is built around raiding, looting and upgrading rather than the competitive turf-control battles the series is known for.
Three difficulty settings — Tourist, Raider and Survivalist — let players calibrate the challenge, and rideable Stingray mounts appear in certain battles. Players choose a tank and gadgets that suit their splatting style, equipping one of three tanks — the Power Tank for smashing through crowds, the Speed Tank for mobility, or the Tactical Tank for controlling the battlefield. Combat rewards feed straight back into base-building at the mechanic’s Hideout Ship.
Despite being a single-player-focused campaign, the game supports local wireless multiplayer for 2-4 players and online play for 2-4 players, requiring an active Nintendo Switch Online membership for the latter. Nintendo has priced the digital edition at $50 in the US via the eShop, with the physical copy at $60 at retail.
For Australian shoppers, retailer roundups have tracked prices including Amazon at $99.95, Big W at $89, EB Games at $99.95, Gamesmen at $89.95, JB Hi-Fi at $84 and the eShop at $84.95, as of late June 2026. New Zealand pricing has similarly settled around the AU$84–$100 range across retailers, per the same tracking.
Read also: Splatoon Raiders Pre-Loads Dominate Switch 2 eShop Ahead of July 23 Launch
Angel Next Door: Memorial Vacation Sends Amane and Mahiru to Okinawa
MAGES. has announced The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten: Memorial Vacation, a visual novel based on the popular television anime, launching for Switch 2 and Switch on July 23 in Japan, with the Switch 2 version being digital-only. The story is set during the first summer vacation since Amane Fujimiya and Mahiru Shiina started dating, after the two win a supermarket raffle for a trip to Okinawa together with their classmates Itsuki Akasawa and Chitose Shirakawa.
MAGES. itself has described the adventure as a “sweet and frustrating trip to Okinawa,” according to Anime News Network. The game is told from Amane’s perspective and features a branching narrative with eight possible endings, with players progressing by choosing between travel plans proposed by the four characters, determining the locations visited and specific events that unfold.
The physical Standard Edition for Switch will cost 7,480 yen, with a Limited Edition at 12,980 yen including two acrylic stands, four clear bookmarks, an original drama CD and an original soundtrack CD; digital copies are priced at 6,380 yen, with a Digital Deluxe Edition at 9,680 yen bundling the digital soundtrack and drama CD. The release lands roughly four months after MAGES. first confirmed the project.
Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster Rounds Out the July 23 Switch 2 Slate
Also arriving on July 23 is Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster, bringing two classic entries forward to the current generation and following Tidus, a star blitzball player determined to save the world of Spira, alongside summoner Yuna and her companions, as detailed on Nintendo’s official UK news page. The remaster joins Splatoon Raiders as one of the week’s two headline Switch 2 releases in Nintendo’s own promotional rundown for the month.
Rounding out the week, Nintendo’s own schedule notes “various new titles” beyond the headliners are also going live on the Japanese eShop, part of the platform’s typically busy pre-weekend digital drop.
A Crowded Switch 2 Calendar Heading Into Late July
The clustering of Splatoon Raiders, the Angel Next Door visual novel and the Final Fantasy remaster on a single date underscores how packed the Switch 2’s second summer has become since the console’s 2025 launch. For import-minded Kiwi and Australian collectors, the Angel Next Door physical edition is a Japan-only release for now, with MAGES. giving no indication yet of an English localisation, while Splatoon Raiders ships day-and-date worldwide as a Switch 2 exclusive.
With Nintendo continuing to push out major first-party spin-offs alongside licensed anime tie-ins on the same release calendar, July 23 offers a snapshot of just how broad the Switch 2’s software mix has become — from ink-splattered treasure hunts to a fully voiced beach holiday romance.
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