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Kirby Air Riders is being developed by Bandai Namco Studios under the direction of Masahiro Sakurai. This upcoming sequel to the 2003 GameCube title Kirby Air Ride is scheduled for release on the Nintendo Switch 2 in 2025.
The development team includes multiple studios, with Bandai Namco Studios joining Sora Ltd. and HAL Laboratory in creating this new racing title. This collaboration is particularly notable as Bandai Namco Studios previously worked with Sakurai on Super Smash Bros. 4 and Ultimate.
Just like Super Smash Bros. for Wii U & 3DS and Ultimate, the recently announced “Kirby Air Riders” game is also being developed by Bandai Namco Studios.
The full staff is giving their all in developing the game, but it will take some time before we can share more information.…
— 桜井 政博 / Masahiro Sakurai (@Sora_Sakurai) April 3, 2025
This marks Sakurai’s return to the Kirby franchise as a director for the first time since the original Kirby Air Ride in 2003. In fact, Sakurai had hinted at this project in his final YouTube video, where he mentioned working on something he couldn’t discuss at that time.
The game appears to maintain the four-player racing format of the original, featuring differently colored Kirbys as playable characters. While full details about gameplay mechanics haven’t been revealed, the original’s simple control scheme and Kirby’s ability to absorb enemy powers were distinctive features that may return in this sequel.
