Nintendo Switch 2 Games July 23: Splatoon Raiders, Final Fantasy X, Avatar Legends and More Drop This Week

Nintendo Switch 2 owners have a genuinely busy week ahead. Five games are dropping on July 23, and the lineup is actually stacked — we’re talking a brand new Splatoon spin-off that’s an NS2 exclusive, a legendary Final Fantasy double pack making its native debut on the platform, and a proper Avatar fighting game that’s been years in the making. Whether you’re an RPG head, a platform fighter fan, or someone just waiting for Nintendo to give Splatoon a proper single-player game, this week has something for you.

Third-party support on Switch 2 has been one of the better stories of this console cycle so far, and July 23 is a solid example of that. You don’t often see five titles land on the same day for any platform, let alone on a Nintendo console. Let’s break down everything dropping this week.

avatar the last airbender fighting game legends

All Nintendo Switch 2 Games Releasing on July 23, 2026

• Splatoon Raiders (Switch 2 exclusive)
• Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster
• Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game
• Disgaea Mayhem
• Cultic

Five games on one day. That’s not something that happens often on Nintendo hardware, and the quality range here is genuinely broad — from a big first-party exclusive to an indie boomer shooter to a franchise-pivoting action RPG. Here’s what you need to know about each one.

Splatoon Raiders – The Big One

This is the headliner for July 23, full stop. Splatoon Raiders is a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive — it’s not coming to Switch 1 — and it marks the first proper spin-off the Splatoon franchise has ever gotten. If you’ve been playing the series purely for Turf War and ranked modes, this is something completely different.

You play as a customizable mechanic — Inkling or Octoling, your pick — who gets stranded on the Spirhalite Islands alongside Deep Cut, the fan-favourite trio of Shiver, Frye, and Big Man from Splatoon 3. The whole setup is a treasure-hunting adventure where you’re fighting waves of Salmonid enemies, collecting loot, upgrading gear, and uncovering the mystery behind the islands. Think less competitive lobby simulator, more story-driven action game with looter-shooter elements baked in.

Nintendo held a dedicated Raiders Direct on June 30 that went deep on the systems — weapon customisation, mechanical gadgets like the Shot Pot turret and the Splatchet, a Mechanic Shack on your hideout ship where you craft and upgrade gear between runs, rideable Stingray mounts in certain fights, and three difficulty settings (Tourist, Raider, Survivalist) that you can swap at any time without affecting your loot drops. The progression loop is genuinely closer to Monster Hunter or a looter-RPG than anything the Splatoon series has done before.

Despite the single-player focus, Nintendo did confirm co-op support. Up to four players can team up online or via local wireless, with enemy difficulty scaling dynamically based on how many people are in your session. You can also drop into a friend’s run through a request system and earn a Help Bonus for doing so. One important note: local co-op requires each player to have their own Switch 2 and copy of the game — no split-screen on a single console.

Splatoon Raiders is priced at $49.99 digital and $59.99 physical. New Deep Cut amiibo — Shiver, Frye, and Big Man in Raider-themed outfits — also launch the same day, and themed Joy-Con 2 controllers inspired by the trio are dropping alongside the game too. Pre-orders are live on the eShop right now if you want to grab it ahead of launch.

Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster – A Legend Gets a Native Home

If you’ve somehow never played Final Fantasy X, July 23 is an incredible time to fix that. Square Enix is bringing FFX/X-2 HD Remaster to Nintendo Switch 2 as a native release, and this is one of the most acclaimed JRPGs ever made finally getting proper hardware behind it on a Nintendo platform.

The package includes both Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 in one bundle, and it carries over the quality-of-life additions from the PC version that were never previously available on console — a high-speed battle mode, a no-random-encounters toggle, and the fully remastered orchestral score. You’re also getting the International Version content from both games included. The timing is pretty deliberate too: FFX just hit its 25th anniversary, with the original Japanese release landing on July 19, 2001 — four days before this Switch 2 version drops.

It’s worth knowing upfront that the Switch 2 version is digital-only in North America at launch (the physical Game-Key Card version is arriving later), and there is no upgrade path from the Switch 1 version — save data won’t carry over either. If you own the old version and want to play on Switch 2, it’s a fresh $49.99 purchase. That’s a bit unfortunate, but for players who haven’t touched these games before, over 100 combined hours of content for that price is hard to argue with. FFX’s Conditional Turn-Based Battle system is still one of the most strategically satisfying combat systems the series has ever built.

FFX-2 is the weaker of the two by most people’s reckoning, but even that game has its fans, and having the full story from start to finish in one package is worth it. This is the definitive way to play both games on Switch 2 hardware.

Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game – Aang and Korra Finally Get Their Due

This one had a bit of a rocky road to launch — it was originally targeting a July 2 release, then got pushed back three weeks for additional polish — but Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game is finally dropping on July 23 across Switch, Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam.

It’s a 2D hand-drawn fighting game developed by Gameplay Group International, and the roster at launch covers characters from both Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. The base game ships with 12 fighters: Aang, Korra, Zuko, Katara, Toph, Sokka, Azula, Kyoshi, Ozai, Zaheer, Avatar State Aang, and Avatar State Korra (those last two are separate roster slots, not mid-match transformations). Each character comes with selectable Support characters that influence their moveset and grant special moves, adding another layer of tactical depth on top of the main combat.

The game uses proprietary rollback netcode and full crossplay across all platforms, which is exactly what a competitive fighter needs to have a healthy online scene long-term. There’s also a story mode and a classic arcade experience built in, so it’s not just an online-only deal.

Post-launch, the Year 1 Pass adds five more fighters: Bolin, Ty Lee, Lin Beifong, Uncle Iroh, and a fifth character decided by pre-order player vote (the options are Tenzin, Kuvira, Amon, King Bumi, and Asami Sato). The Standard Edition is $29.99, while the Digital Deluxe Edition at $49.99 bundles in the Year 1 Pass, a digital artbook, soundtrack, and alternate HUD skins.

The timing is interesting too — the game drops just a couple of days before the Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender movie premieres on Paramount+, so there’s a clear marketing window here. Whether or not the movie is any good, fans of the franchise are going to be in a good mood heading into this one.

Disgaea Mayhem – The Netherworld Goes Action

Disgaea Mayhem is the other major franchise spin-off landing on July 23, and it’s doing something the series has never done before: dropping the tactical SRPG format entirely in favour of direct action RPG combat.

You play as N.A., a mercenary hired to help Princess Tichelle satisfy her craving for flan by fighting through the Netherworld. It sounds ridiculous, and honestly that’s kind of the point — Disgaea has always leaned into that absurd energy, and Mayhem carries it forward. The core combat lets you swap between seven different weapon types (swords, bows, guns, fists, axes, and more), each of which fundamentally changes how you play. The classic Disgaea grinding loop is still present though — leveling up, entering the Item World to power up gear, reincarnating for higher base stats, and pushing damage numbers into the millions through the Dark Chocolate Assembly.

A free demo is live right now on Switch, Switch 2, PS5, and Steam, letting you try all seven weapons across three stages before committing. Community feedback on the demo has been mixed, so it’s genuinely worth trying before you buy. The Limited Edition is available at $99.99 and bundles the base game with an artbook, the Hellscape original soundtrack, and some collector’s items if you want to go all-in.

Disgaea Mayhem also launched in Japan earlier this year under the name Makaism: Frenzy of the Netherworld, so localized reviews should start surfacing before July 23 if you want more opinion before pulling the trigger.

Cultic – A Boomer Shooter on Switch 2

If you’re more of an old-school FPS fan, Cultic rounds out the July 23 lineup as a retro-styled first-person shooter. Originally released on PC in 2022 to solid critical reception, Cultic is a throwback to ’90s shooters in the vein of Blood and early Build Engine games. You’re up against a murderous cult, using a range of period-appropriate weapons across tight, atmospheric levels.

It’s not the biggest name on the July 23 slate, but boomer shooters have found a genuine audience on Switch hardware over the years, and Cultic is a solid entry in that genre. Worth picking up for fans of the style.

What July 23 Means for Switch 2

Five games on one day isn’t just a cool calendar coincidence — it’s a sign of where Switch 2’s third-party support is sitting right now. The platform has had strong momentum since launch, and the fact that developers are coordinating around it in a way that clusters major releases tells you something about confidence in the install base.

Splatoon Raiders is the flagship — it’s the kind of Switch 2-exclusive that demonstrates what Nintendo’s new hardware can do beyond the multiplatform ports. Final Fantasy X/X-2 is a classic getting proper treatment on new hardware. Avatar Legends and Disgaea Mayhem are legitimate franchise spin-offs, not lazy cash-ins. And Cultic rounds it out for the indie-focused crowd.

If you’re planning your wallet ahead of time, Splatoon Raiders and Final Fantasy X/X-2 are the two strongest picks for Switch 2 specifically. But depending on your taste, any one of these five could be worth your Thursday.

For more on what’s coming to Switch 2 and other major platforms, check out our coverage of the God of War: Laufey physical release and the future of physical games on PlayStation.