Nintendo has added Splatoon Raiders custom designs to Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Here are the codes, access methods, requirements, and the bigger Switch 2 crossover strategy behind them.
Image: IGDB
Nintendo adds Splatoon Raiders designs to New Horizons before the Switch 2 launch
Nintendo is now distributing two Splatoon Raiders custom designs inside Animal Crossing: New Horizons, giving players a small but timely crossover ahead of Splatoon Raiders’ scheduled Nintendo Switch 2 release on July 23, 2026. The concrete additions are the Squid Tank Top and the Smallfry Fan, both shared through Nintendo’s Animal Crossing design systems rather than as a conventional paid DLC pack or eShop add-on.
The tension here is that Animal Crossing: New Horizons is no longer in the same live-service moment it occupied in 2020 and 2021, yet Nintendo is still using it as a living promotional space. Saiga NAK, Siliconera, GoNintendo, and NintendoFuse all point back to Nintendo’s Japanese Topics post for the distribution details, and the timing is clear: these Animal Crossing Splatoon Raiders designs are arriving roughly a week before Nintendo’s new Splatoon game is due on Switch 2.
For players, the useful part is simple. You do not need to wait for a new Animal Crossing island event to appear. You can claim the designs now through the existing Dream Address and Custom Designs Portal systems, provided you can access the relevant online features.
How to get the Squid Tank Top and Smallfry Fan in Animal Crossing
Nintendo’s distribution gives players two routes into the crossover. Saiga NAK reports that the designs are available on Nintendo’s official island, Ninten Island, which players can visit using Luna from the bed in their in-game home. The Dream Address listed by NintendoFuse, Siliconera, Saiga NAK, and GoNintendo is DA-6382-1459-4417.
If you would rather skip the dream visit and go straight to the designs, the same reports say you can use the Custom Designs Portal at the Able Sisters tailor shop. Siliconera notes that players need an active Nintendo Switch Online subscription to input the shared design codes. The Creator ID is MA-6818-1746-6029. The Squid Tank Top design code is MO-5MR7-BQM4-891L, and the Smallfry Fan design code is MO-RF23-CBM7-CWJN.
That distinction matters because these are ACNH new designs, not a surprise furniture drop that appears in Nook’s Cranny or a new seasonal recipe set. If you want the designs on your own island, use the Dream Address to see them in Nintendo’s curated space, then use the Creator ID or individual design IDs through the portal to save them for your character and island styling.
What the designs actually are, and where they fit on an island
The two Animal Crossing New Horizons Splatoon items are built around readable, summery silhouettes. Siliconera describes the Squid Tank Top as a customized tank top featuring the Splatoon squid icon, while the Smallfry Fan is an uchiwa fan design with Smallfry, the lesser Salmonid that appeared in Splatoon 3. Saiga NAK’s translation of Nintendo’s post frames the pair as fitting for the summer heat, which explains why Nintendo picked a tank top and handheld fan instead of heavier gear.
That choice is also quietly smart design. Splatoon’s visual language is loud, graphic, and fashion-forward, while Animal Crossing’s custom design system works best when an idea can read at small scale on a villager, mannequin, wall display, stall, or player outfit. A squid icon on a tank top survives that compression. Smallfry on a fan gives players a handheld prop-like accent that suits beaches, boardwalks, festival stalls, and messy little waterfront builds.
If your island already leans urban, sporty, coastal, or festival-themed, these designs should slot in cleanly. A Splatoon-themed plaza can use the tank top as a boutique display, while the fan can sell the feeling of a summer event without requiring a full island redesign. The crossover is modest, but it plays to Animal Crossing’s strongest creative loop: small visual pieces that let players imply a whole scene.
The amiibo crossover is separate from these new design codes
Nintendo’s Splatoon crossover inside Animal Crossing is broader than the two new Splatoon Raiders Animal Crossing designs, but players should keep the systems separate. Siliconera reports that Nintendo also reminded players they can scan Splatoon amiibo in Animal Crossing: New Horizons to unlock series-themed items. Saiga NAK similarly says Splatoon series amiibo can be used to order collaboration items from the Nook Shopping catalog and to bring special characters Cece or Viché to the island.
GoNintendo adds that players can preview Splatoon-themed furniture by visiting Ninten Island. That makes the official island a useful first stop if you are deciding whether to dig out amiibo figures or simply grab the new custom designs and move on.
Nookipedia’s Splatoon crossover page gives the longer series context. It lists Splatoon as a Nintendo-developed third-person shooter series with Animal Crossing crossover content, and notes that Splatoon-based items have appeared in every Animal Crossing game since Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo. It also lists Cece, Viché, and Inkwell as villagers based on Splatoon. In other words, the new designs are a fresh promotional beat, but the franchise bridge itself is already well established.
Why Nintendo is still using New Horizons as a crossover stage
The confirmed reason for this specific drop is promotional. Siliconera says Nintendo created the new designs to help promote Splatoon Raiders, the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 game. Saiga NAK identifies Splatoon Raiders as Nintendo Switch 2 software scheduled for Thursday, July 23, 2026. That makes New Horizons a low-friction marketing surface for a platform Nintendo is actively building around.
The broader context makes the move less surprising. Nookipedia’s version 3.0 update history says Animal Crossing: New Horizons received a major free update in January 2026 alongside the launch window of Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, with the Switch 2 Edition following the next day. It also notes that version 3.0 was the first major content update for New Horizons since version 2.0 in November 2021, which had been announced at the time as the final planned content update.
That history changes the shape of this crossover. New Horizons went quiet for years, then Nintendo brought it back into the Switch 2 conversation with a new edition and a substantial update. Feeding in Animal Crossing crossover items now keeps the game visible to returning island owners, gives Switch 2 players a reason to open it again, and lets Splatoon Raiders borrow the cozy, social reach of one of Nintendo’s biggest recent community games. That is interpretation, but it is grounded in the timing Nintendo has chosen and the platform labels reported by the sources.
A small design drop with useful signals for players
Players should not read this as confirmation of a larger Splatoon Raiders event inside Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The supported facts are narrower: two custom designs are available, Nintendo’s official island and design IDs provide access, Splatoon amiibo still connect to separate themed items and characters, and Splatoon Raiders is scheduled for Switch 2 on July 23, 2026. None of the supplied sources announce a new Animal Crossing event chain, a paid collaboration pack, or additional Splatoon Raiders codes beyond the Squid Tank Top and Smallfry Fan.
Still, the drop is worth noticing if you care about Nintendo’s post-launch handling of New Horizons. A tiny item distribution can say a lot about how the company views the game in 2026. New Horizons remains a place where Nintendo can seed designs quickly, invite players to an official island, and connect one audience to another without forcing a full update cycle.
For practical purposes, the best move is to claim the designs while the codes are fresh, especially if your island has any summer, seaside, streetwear, or festival space waiting for a splash of ink. The Animal Crossing Splatoon Raiders designs are small additions, but they are exactly the kind of small additions Animal Crossing players tend to turn into whole corners of an island.