Nintendo hosted a Kirby Air Riders-dedicated Nintendo Direct this morning, with game director Masahiro Sakurai spending 45-minutes breaking down everything there is to know about the game from gameplay strategies, the riders you can race as, the different courses, game modes, and at the end of it all, we got confirmation that Kirby Air Riders will arrive on Nintendo Switch 2 this coming November 20, 2025.
It's also not another $80 game, as the listing for the game that went up on the Nintendo eShop following the direct revealed that it'll stick at $70, and that it'll be a 25GB download.
Similarly to how Sakurai went into great detail with each new Smash character that was introduced for Super Smash Bros, he goes into great detail with every aspect of Kirby Air Riders that players who never heard of the original GameCube title, and those who are familiar with it, need to know about the new release.
Some of the significant changes include the fact that there are several riders to choose from, including Kirby, Meta Knight, King Dedede, Bandana Waddle Dee, Cappy, Magolor, Gooey, Waddloe Doo, Knuckle Joe, Susie, Chef Kawasaki, and a brand new character called Starman.
You can also use any of them with any machine, and among your choices are the Warp Star, Winged Star, Wagon Star, Wheelie Bike, Shadow Star, Bulk Star, Swerve Star, Chariot, Tank Star, Turbo Star, Slick Star, Rocket Star, Rex Wheelie, Battle Chariot, and the Paper Star. Needless to say, there's more than just two types of machines you can ride this time around.
Sakurai also showed off a few of the courses, including Floria Fields, Cavernous Corners, Cyberion Highway, Mount Amberfalls, and Waveflow Waters, with Waveflow Waters being the course that Sakurai showcased a lap of to show how to use the various mechanics at play in the main Air Ride game mode.
Speaking of game modes, he also showed off the various challenge modes and everything else that there is to do in Kirby Air Riders when you don't want to stick to its main races, like Dustup Derby, Kirby Melee, Air Glider, Drag Race, Gourmet Race, and Skydive. Some of the modes are more combat-focused, while others are time-trials or distance challenges that have you try to fly the farthest distance in one jump, for example.
It's clear that there's plenty more to Kirby Air Riders than it just being a different flavour of Mario Kart, an issue that Sakurai addressed at the top of the Direct. And if you want a chance to play Kirby Air Riders ahead of its November release date, a blog post on the Nintendo website confirmed that there will be a playable demo at PAX West for attendees to check out at the end of the month, from August 29-September 1.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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