We’ve heard surprisingly little about director Masahiro Sakurai’s highly anticipated Nintendo Switch 2 sequel, Kirby Air Riders – but that all changes with today’s dedicated Nintendo Direct.
In a few short moments, Nintendo will launch into a broadcast that will finally share more information – and hopefully a release date – for the long-awaited sequel to an often-forgotten Nintendo GameCube classic. With its expected 2025 release window growing smaller every day, we’re also hoping to see a deep dive into Kirby Air Riders gameplay as Sakurai delivers a whopping 45 minutes of content.
As promised, the Kirby Air Riders Nintendo Direct will no doubt contain a feast of information for fans to gobble up across its lengthy runtime. There’s no reason to fear, though, because we here at IGN will be collecting all of the biggest reveals and announcements for eager Nintendo Switch 2 players to comb through. You can keep up with everything announced at the new Nintendo Direct below.
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.
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.”
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.
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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).
