Summary:
Nintendo is preparing players for Splatoon Raiders with an official comic series starring Shiver, Frye, and Big Man. Titled Deep Cut’s Island Misadventures, the comic is being released through the Nintendo Today app, giving fans a small piece of the story each day before the Nintendo Switch 2 game arrives on July 23, 2026. The first instalment became available on June 23 and begins a run of daily chapters that explores what Deep Cut experienced on the Spirhalite Islands before the main adventure gets underway.
The format feels particularly well suited to Splatoon. The series has always delivered much of its personality through stylish broadcasts, expressive character animations, fictional music groups, environmental details, and wonderfully strange pieces of background lore. A daily comic gives Nintendo another playful way to develop that world without revealing every surprise waiting inside the game. It can show us how Deep Cut reacts to island life, how the trio’s relationships shape their decisions, and how their latest misfortune connects with the mechanic controlled by the player.
Deep Cut’s Island Misadventures also strengthens the role of Nintendo Today as more than a conventional news feed. Players need the mobile application to follow the official chapters and view the promotional material connected to the series. That exclusivity may not suit everyone, but it gives fans a reason to check the app regularly while creating a month-long trail of story moments leading directly toward the release of Splatoon Raiders.
Splatoon Raiders receives an official daily comic series
Nintendo has launched an official Splatoon Raiders comic called Deep Cut’s Island Misadventures, placing the colourful musical trio from Splatoon 3 back in the spotlight. Rather than releasing the full story at once, Nintendo is presenting it as a sequence of daily episodes through the Nintendo Today app. The approach turns the final stretch before launch into a continuing event, with each chapter offering another brief look at the trouble awaiting Shiver, Frye, and Big Man. It is a fitting arrangement for characters who have never been known for doing anything quietly. Even an island mishap feels like it should arrive with dramatic poses, booming music, and at least one questionable plan from Frye.
The comic began on June 23, 2026, and serves as a prologue to the events of Splatoon Raiders. Its purpose is not simply to remind players that the game exists. The chapters establish what happened to Deep Cut before the player-controlled mechanic becomes involved in the main adventure. That gives the series room to introduce its setting and mood while preserving larger gameplay and story revelations for July. Players who follow each instalment can gradually become familiar with the circumstances surrounding the trio’s arrival on the Spirhalite Islands.
Deep Cut’s Island Misadventures builds a bridge to the game
A good prologue should do more than repeat details from a trailer, and Deep Cut’s Island Misadventures has an opportunity to connect the familiar world of Splatoon 3 with the less familiar structure of Splatoon Raiders. Shiver, Frye, and Big Man already have established personalities, rivalries, habits, and loyalties. Placing them in an isolated island environment allows those traits to drive the story. How do three performers accustomed to lights, cameras, and chaotic broadcasts handle a remote location filled with danger? Probably with confidence for the first five minutes, followed by an escalating collection of avoidable problems.
The comic also gives Nintendo room to explain smaller details that might feel awkward during normal gameplay. A brief exchange can show why a particular camp was created, how a useful tool was discovered, or what caused the group to explore a certain area. None of those moments needs a lengthy cinematic sequence. In comic form, Nintendo can establish them quickly while keeping the tone light and expressive. By the time players begin the game, the island should feel like a place where events have already occurred rather than an empty stage waiting for the protagonist to arrive.
The comic follows Deep Cut on the Spirhalite Islands
The Spirhalite Islands form the main setting of Splatoon Raiders, taking the series away from the urban arenas and lively public spaces that usually define its visual identity. Nintendo describes the game as an adventure in which the player works as a mechanic alongside Deep Cut while searching for treasure and confronting aggressive Salmonids. That premise gives the comic plenty of material to explore. The islands can hide abandoned structures, unusual wildlife, scattered resources, mechanical mysteries, and traces of earlier visitors. Each new location can become both a joke and a clue, which is a very Splatoon way to build a mystery.
Following Deep Cut before the protagonist joins them also gives the trio more independence. They are not merely waiting around to hand out missions or explain controls. They have already been exploring, making choices, and dealing with the consequences. That matters because the group is expected to play a central role throughout Splatoon Raiders. The comic can therefore make their presence feel earned. When the mechanic meets them, players who followed the daily episodes may understand exactly why the trio needs help and, perhaps more importantly, why leaving them unsupervised was never going to end peacefully.
Short daily episodes make the story easy to follow
The chapters appear to be deliberately brief, making them easy to read during a daily visit to Nintendo Today. That format matches the way many people use a mobile news application. You open it, check the latest update, enjoy a quick scene, and continue with your day. There is no need to reserve an evening or remember where you stopped in a long volume. The story arrives in small portions, almost like receiving a postcard from three friends whose holiday has gone spectacularly wrong.
Short episodes can also give individual jokes and character reactions more room to breathe. Splatoon’s visual humour often depends on exaggerated expressions, sudden reversals, and background details that reward a second look. A compact chapter can focus on one problem without rushing toward a major revelation. Over several weeks, those modest moments can accumulate into a clearer picture of island life. The result may be less about delivering huge plot twists and more about making the characters, location, and central predicament feel familiar before players take control.
The opening chapter begins with a crash landing
The first instalment is titled Crash Landing, immediately establishing that Deep Cut’s journey to the Spirhalite Islands does not begin smoothly. A crash is an efficient opening because it explains why the trio may be stranded, why their equipment could be damaged, and why a mechanic becomes valuable. It also creates an instant problem without requiring pages of setup. One moment they are travelling toward their destination, and the next they are surrounded by wreckage and probably arguing over who was supposed to check the route.
This beginning supports what Nintendo has already shown about Splatoon Raiders. The player assumes the role of a mechanic who works with Deep Cut, uses mechanical gadgets, and explores the islands. By showing the accident from the trio’s perspective, the comic can establish the damaged machinery and missing resources that shape the opening situation. The chapter title suggests a straightforward incident, but the consequences may stretch far beyond a broken vehicle. A crash can scatter supplies, attract enemies, separate companions, or expose something hidden beneath the island’s surface.
Nintendo Today becomes the home of the comic
Deep Cut’s Island Misadventures is being distributed through Nintendo Today, Nintendo’s mobile application for company news, calendars, videos, images, and franchise updates. A teaser promoting the comic was also made available through the app. By keeping the series there, Nintendo is encouraging fans to treat the application as a destination rather than a notification service that is opened only after a major announcement. The daily release schedule supports that goal because missing a single visit could mean returning to several unread chapters.
The decision naturally creates a limitation as well. Players who prefer following Nintendo through its website or social media accounts may not want another application on their phone. The comic’s official placement means Nintendo Today is the primary way to experience it as intended. Still, the strategy makes sense from Nintendo’s perspective. Splatoon is built around fictional broadcasts, rotating schedules, recurring announcements, and characters who communicate directly with their audience. A regularly updated mobile platform fits that rhythm better than a single promotional page that remains unchanged for weeks.
The daily schedule leads directly into the game’s release
The comic began on June 23, exactly one month before Splatoon Raiders launches for Nintendo Switch 2 on July 23, 2026. Nintendo Life reports that the series consists of 30 daily issues, creating a continuous prologue across the final month before release. Nintendo’s official social channels describe the run as continuing until July 22, meaning the final chapter is positioned immediately before players can begin the game. It is a tidy piece of scheduling that allows the story to hand control over to the player with almost no gap between formats.
This timing also means the comic acts as a daily countdown without constantly shouting about the number of days remaining. Each episode moves the calendar forward naturally. Readers do not need a large timer flashing in the corner because the unfolding misadventure performs the same job with more personality. As the launch date approaches, Nintendo can increase the sense of urgency inside the story, reveal more about the island, or bring Deep Cut closer to the situation seen at the beginning of the game. The final episode could then end at precisely the moment the mechanic enters the picture.
Deep Cut takes a central role in Splatoon Raiders
Deep Cut debuted in Splatoon 3 as the trio responsible for the Anarchy Splatcast and quickly became one of the game’s most recognisable groups. Shiver brings a cool and calculating presence, Frye supplies boundless energy, and Big Man somehow balances the group while also being a giant manta ray who communicates with cheerful cries of “Ay.” Their contrasting personalities make them ideal for a comic. Even a simple task such as finding food or repairing a shelter can become entertaining when all three characters approach it differently.
Splatoon Raiders moves them beyond their familiar duties as broadcasters and Splatfest representatives. Nintendo presents the trio as swashbuckling musicians accompanying the player through the Spirhalite Islands. That description suggests they will participate directly in exploration and combat rather than remaining safely behind a desk. The comic helps establish that transition. We can see them as adventurers before meeting them as companions, making their new roles feel like a natural extension of their treasure-hunting image rather than an abrupt costume change.
The comic can add personality and context to the adventure
Splatoon has always enjoyed hiding serious world-building beneath bright colours, fashionable clothing, catchy music, and seafood jokes. Much of its history is discovered through environmental clues, collectable records, character conversations, and background artwork. Deep Cut’s Island Misadventures can continue that tradition by placing useful details inside humorous scenes. A broken sign might reveal an old route. A strange object in the background could later become an important device. A joke about Big Man carrying too many supplies might explain where a particular item came from.
Readers should still be careful not to treat every panel as evidence of a secret conspiracy involving ancient civilisation, hidden idols, and a suspiciously shaped sandwich. Sometimes a joke is simply a joke. Even so, Nintendo knows that Splatoon fans enjoy examining tiny details. The daily format gives the community a fresh collection of images to discuss, compare, and interpret. That conversation can keep interest active between larger announcements while allowing Nintendo to expand the game’s atmosphere without handing over its biggest surprises.
Splatoon Raiders expands the series beyond competitive battles
Splatoon Raiders is described as a single-player-focused adventure, setting it apart from the competitive multiplayer structure most closely associated with the franchise. The familiar ink-based movement and weapon mechanics remain important, but the goal is no longer limited to covering an arena or defeating an opposing team. Players explore the Spirhalite Islands, search for treasure, battle groups of Salmonids, customise their appearance, and use mechanical gadgets. Cooperative support also allows up to four players to take part through online or local wireless play.
The change in focus makes additional storytelling particularly valuable. Competitive matches can introduce characters and locations, but they rarely leave much room for a continuous plot while everyone is busy painting the floor and being ambushed by a roller. A dedicated adventure creates space for conversations, evolving relationships, discoveries, and consequences. The comic prepares players for that shift by treating Splatoon Raiders as an ongoing story before they even press the start button. It signals that the characters’ journey matters alongside the satisfying business of covering everything in brightly coloured ink.
Nintendo is turning the wait into part of the experience
Releasing a chapter every day changes the period before launch from passive waiting into a shared routine. Fans can open Nintendo Today, read the newest instalment, discuss the latest mishap, and return the following day for the next piece. That rhythm resembles the anticipation created by an episodic television series, only on a smaller scale. Nobody needs to clear an hour from the evening, and there is still enough continuity to create curiosity about what happens next.
The strategy also suits Deep Cut perfectly. These characters were introduced as hosts who appeared regularly to deliver updates, joke with one another, and react to events. A daily comic keeps that relationship with the audience alive. Instead of announcing the game and disappearing until launch, the trio remains visible throughout the month. Whether they are repairing equipment, fleeing Salmonids, hunting treasure, or making another heroic attempt to turn disaster into a performance opportunity, their misadventures make the road to July 23 feel like part of the larger Splatoon Raiders story.
Conclusion
Deep Cut’s Island Misadventures gives Splatoon Raiders a lively prologue that matches the humour, visual style, and character-driven charm of the wider series. The daily comic follows Shiver, Frye, and Big Man after their arrival on the Spirhalite Islands, beginning with a crash landing and gradually leading readers toward the opening of the Nintendo Switch 2 game. By releasing each episode through Nintendo Today, Nintendo is creating a month-long connection between the initial accident and the adventure players will begin on July 23, 2026.
The chapters may be short, but their value lies in accumulation. A joke here, a clue there, and a wonderfully panicked Big Man reaction can slowly establish the setting and explain why Deep Cut needs a skilled mechanic. For players already planning to visit the Spirhalite Islands, the comic offers a playful reason to check in each day. Just remember that when Shiver says everything is under control, the next panel is probably about to prove otherwise.
FAQs
- What is Deep Cut’s Island Misadventures?
- Deep Cut’s Island Misadventures is an official Splatoon Raiders comic starring Shiver, Frye, and Big Man. It serves as a prologue that follows the trio on the Spirhalite Islands before the main events of the game.
- Where can the Splatoon Raiders comic be read?
- The comic is available through the Nintendo Today app. Nintendo also used the application to share a teaser promoting the daily series.
- When did Deep Cut’s Island Misadventures begin?
- The first episode was released on June 23, 2026. New episodes are scheduled to appear daily through July 22, immediately before the game launches.
- When will Splatoon Raiders be released?
- Splatoon Raiders will launch exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2 on July 23, 2026. Nintendo has confirmed both physical and digital versions of the game.
- Is Splatoon Raiders only a single-player game?
- Nintendo describes Splatoon Raiders as a single-player-focused adventure, but it also supports cooperative play for up to four players through online and local wireless connections.
Sources
- Splatoon Raiders Sets for Adventures on 23 July, Exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo, April 23, 2026
- PSA: Splatoon Raiders’ Daily Prologue Comics Start Rolling Out Today, Nintendo Life, June 23, 2026
- Splatoon Raiders – Deep Cut’s Island Misadventures Official Comic Coming to Nintendo Today App, NintendoSoup, June 22, 2026
- Splatoon Raiders – Deep Cut’s Island Misadventures: Releasing June 23rd, OatmealDome, June 21, 2026
- Splatoon Raiders Hits the Switch 2 in July, The Verge, April 21, 2026













