The Kirby Air Riders Nintendo Direct has come to an end after 45 minutes of fresh gameplay details and release date information from director Masahiro Sakurai himself.
After months without any major updates on Kirby Air Riders, today’s presentation delivered a smorgasbord of new information, including a first look at gameplay, updated mechanics, and, yes, a release date of November 20, 2025, for Nintendo Switch 2. Not one moment of the broadcast was wasted, with Sakurai filling every second with either confirmation of a new or returning mechanic.
Highlights include that long-awaited release date, copy abilities for all of the many new Riders, changes to City Trial, and much, much more. If you missed the show, there’s no need to worry; we’ve included all of the major announcements and reveals for you right here. You can take a look below for everything announced during the Kirby Air Riders Nintendo Direct.
Kirby Air Riders Confirms November Release Date
Are you ready to ride? #KirbyAirRiders launches Nov 20 on #NintendoSwitch2! pic.twitter.com/72zZGfNcB7
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) August 19, 2025
Just as the Kirby Air Riders Nintendo Direct came to a close, Nintendo announced that Nintendo Switch 2 players will be able to pick up the long-awaited sequel come November 20, 2025. It’s a release date that sets launch firmly in 2025 while still giving the Mario Kart-like Kirby game some time away from June’s Mario Kart World.
Kirby Air Riders Finally Adds More Playable Riders
More Kirby Air Riders…riders. #NIntendoDirect pic.twitter.com/7wLBNLLZ5N
— IGN (@IGN) August 19, 2025
Kirby, Meta Knight, King Dedede, Chef Kawasaki, and Bandana Waddle Dee have all joined the Kirby Air Riders roster as playable Riders. It’s a pretty big change from the original Kirby Air Ride, which mostly only allowed players to choose from different versions of Kirby. Only a few moments into the show, it’s clear there will be many, many other playable Riders to choose from, too.
Kirby Air Riders Gets a Second Button to Press
BREAKING: A second button has been added to Kirby Air Riders. #NintendoDirect pic.twitter.com/jQnMEydwlA
— IGN (@IGN) August 19, 2025
While the original Kirby Air Ride only gave players one button to press, Kirby Air Riders will up the ante with an additional button. The B button will allow players to boost, with the Y button added to allow the use of special abilities. These include the freedom to switch to new machines, unleash unique moves for each rider, and more.
The Super Smash Bros. Team Reunited for Kirby Air Riders
After asking the age-old question, “Why is making a game so hard?” the creator made the point to clarify which development teams have been working on Kirby Air Riders. Players will be happy to know that both Sora Ltd. and Bandai Namco, the same team behind Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, as well as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, re-teamed to make Kirby Air Riders.
Sakurai Admits Kirby Air Riders “Basically Is Like Mario Kart”
Kirby Air Riders #NintendoDirect #Gamescom2025 pic.twitter.com/dEjBBjBfyP
— IGN (@IGN) August 19, 2025
Sakurai is no stranger to Nintendo Directs, and fans know the Super Smash Bros. director loves to sneak in light-hearted comments when he hosts a presentation. Today’s Kirby Air Riders Nintendo Direct was no different, with the legendary game maker jokingly confirming Kirby Air Ride “basically is like Mario Kart.”
With both series focusing on racing mechanics and, now, a strong roster of characters, the similarities are hard to deny. That said, as shown during today’s broadcast, it’s clear the Kirby spinoff does more than enough to stand apart as a completely different experience.
Kirby Isn’t the Only Rider With Copy Abilities
During the development of Kirby Air Riders, Sakurai and the rest of the team realized it might be unfair for Kirby to be the only character with the option to copy abilities. So, naturally, they decided to let everyone from Meta Knight to King Dedede copy the powers of enemies and even change their appearance for the first time in the series’ history.
“Yes, we did,” Sakurai said.
Up to 16 Players Can Play City Trial at a Time
Up to 16 players can play City Trial together in Kirby Air Riders. #NintendoDirect pic.twitter.com/kkdA1zDCFA
— IGN (@IGN) August 19, 2025
Kirby Air Riders will allow players to join in groups of 16 when playing its open City Trial mode online. That’s a significant increase from the original four-player multiplaer support, with players will able to race around the dense Skyah map, which is said to be quite a bit larger than what fans may be used to and features a variety of different themed areas. Additionally, City Trial supports up to eight players when playing via local wireless support.
Starlit Journey Main Theme Revealed, Out on Nintendo Music Today
With so much of today’s Nintendo Direct focused on Kirby Air Riders gameplay, Sakurai still made sure to talk about some of the game’s new music. Specifically, fans were treated to a snippet of the sequel’s main theme, Starlit Journey. It, along with a selection of other Kirby Air Riders tunes, will be made available via the Nintendo Music app later today.
But Wait, There’s More
With nearly every second of the Kirby Air Riders Nintendo Direct dedicated to showing off something new, it’s no surprise to hear that Sakurai and Bandai Namco have more to talk about. The director closed today’s presentation with the tease that he’d like to talk more about Kirby Air Riders in the future, though it’s unclear if this additional information will arrive in the form of another Nintendo Direct, a blog post, or something else entirely.
At the very least, we now know players will get to go hands-on with Kirby Air Riders when PAX West 2025 comes to Seattle later this month. With the release date now only a few months away, we’ll hopefully know more about Nintendo’s plans soon.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
