Kirby Air Riders will launch for the Nintendo Switch 2 on November 20, 2025. Kirby Air Ride on the Nintendo GameCube earned somewhat mixed reviews at the time of its release, but it has since become a cult classic. Few ever expected a sequel, which made the Kirby Air Riders Switch 2 reveal so shocking. The game has been mostly kept underwraps since its initial announcement, but the latest Nintendo Direct has revealed all kinds of exciting details about what fans can expect from Kirby Air Riders.
Nintendo fans have been hoping for the company to host a Nintendo Direct to fill out the Switch 2's release calendar for the second-half of 2025. But instead of a proper Direct, Nintendo has decided to host a Kirby Air Riders Direct, revealing 45 minutes' worth of information on the upcoming racing game. Now that the Direct is over, fans know when exactly Kirby Air Riders is releasing, who the playable characters are, and more.
Kirby Air Riders Desperately Needs to Bring Back One Feature Above All the Rest
The return of Kirby Air Ride through the Nintendo Switch 2's Kirby Air Riders is a surprise for many fans, but it won't be the same without one mode.
Kirby Air Riders Release Date
First and foremost, Kirby Air Riders is launching exclusively for the Nintendo Switch 2 on November 20, 2025. The game is being developed as a joint venture between Sora Ltd. And Bandai Namco, the duo that previously worked on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Kirby Air Riders will be maintaining the core concept of the original game, but is dialing everything up to 11 with more playable characters and a wildly expanded City Trial mode.
Kirby Air Riders Playable Characters
- Bandana Waddle Dee
- Cappy
- Chef Kawasaki
- Gooey
- Knuckle Joe
- Magolor
- Kirby
- King Dedede
- Meta Knight
- Starman
- Susie
- Waddle Doo
In Kirby Air Riders, the various playable characters have different stats and abilities, which players will have to keep in mind when choosing which air ride machines they want to use. 12 playable characters were confirmed for Kirby Air Riders during the Direct, including franchise mainstays like Meta Knight and King Dedede, but a teaser at the end of the presentation also suggested fan-favorite Dark Matter will be a playable character in the game. All characters can use all the different air ride machines, and they can all utilize copy abilities as well, so Kirby doesn't have an advantage. Confirmed copy abilities in Kirby Air Riders include Plasma, Sword, Bomb, Wheel, Mike, Cutter, Jet, and Steel Ball. Some of the abilities are used for speed boosts, while others are used offensively.
Since Kirby Air Riders can be played with up to 16 players, there are certainly more characters that have yet to be revealed.
Kirby Air Riders Maps and Game Modes
Game Modes
- Air Ride
- City Trial
- Lessons
Kirby Air Riders does not have an acceleration button, but it does have a boost button and a special button. The latter is a new addition to the series and lets players unleash a devastating Final Smash-style ability to get an advantage. Players will be able to learn all about skills and driving techniques in Kirby Air Riders' Lessons mode, which serves as a tutorial. The primary game mode is Air Ride, which features six-player races and can be played online, but most players will likely spend their time in the new version of City Trial, which takes place on the floating island of Skyah.
Skyah is a sandbox that up to 16 players can explore online. They have five minutes to collect the power-ups they want and once the time runs out, they compete in a Stadium mode. Dynamic events happen in the middle of City Trial matches, and so players will always need to be on high alert. Up to 8 players can play City Trial locally with their own Switch 2 consoles, though split-screen support was not clarified during the presentation.
Kirby Air Riders Courses
- Cavernous Corners
- Cyberion Highway
- Floria Fields
- Mount Amberfalls
- Waveflow Waters
Finally, five courses were confirmed for Kirby Air Riders, but it's unclear if that's the full extent of what the game has to offer when it comes to tracks. There's Cavernous Corners, which takes place inside a cave system located deep in the jungle, and Cyberion Highway, which is a digital cyberspace track. Floria Fields is a beautiful course blooming with flowers, and Mount Amberfalls is a gorgeous sunset ride down a mountain. Waveflow Waters, meanwhile, is an ocean racing course.
Kirby Air Riders game director Masahiro Sakurai ended the presentation by teasing that he has even more he wants to announce about the game, but it seems that will have to wait until a later date. There are still other Switch 2 exclusive games planned for release in 2025 without solid release dates at the time of this writing, so perhaps more information on Kirby Air Riders will come at a general Nintendo Direct. That remains to be seen, but in the meantime, Switch 2 owners can now safely mark their calendars for Kirby Air Riders to launch on November 20.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 82 /100 Critics Rec: 86%
- Released
- November 20, 2025
- ESRB
- Everyone 10+ / Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
- Bandai Namco Studios, Sora Ltd.
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Racing
