Kirby Air Ridersdirector Masahiro Sakurai recently commented on the upcoming kart racer’s progress and reflected on the originalKirby Air Rideand the late Satoru Iwata. Many exciting first-party Nintendo games were announced during April’s Switch 2 Direct, including a long-awaited sequel to 2003’sKirby Air Ride.Kirby Air Riderswill launch on the Nintendo Switch 2 at some point in 2025, with Bandai Namco helping Masahiro Sakurai with development as it has done with theSuper Smash Bros. series.
Speaking ofSuper Smash Bros., it is rumored that Nintendo granted Mashiro Sakurai permission to work onKirby Air Ridersas a bargaining chip foreventually developing the nextSuper Smash Bros. entryfor the Switch 2 - which hasn’t been announced in any official capacity yet.Kirby Air Ridershas reportedly been a passion project for Sakurai after working onSuper Smash Bros. Ultimatefor so long, and he is joining up with originalKirbydeveloper HAL Laboratory for the first time since 2004’sKirby and the Amazing Mirrorfor the Game Boy Advance.
Masahiro Sakurai recently took to Twitter to give fans a small update onKirby Air Ridersto celebrate the anniversary of theoriginalKirby Air Rideon the Nintendo GameCube. He simply says thatKirby Air Ridersis “shaping up to be something great,” which isn’t much but is a promising sign for fans of Sakurai’s previous work.
Sakurai Says Kirby Air Riders Is Shaping Up to Be ‘Something Great’
Sakurai also took a moment to reflect onthe late Satoru Iwata, the former Nintendo President who passed away from complications from bile duct cancer on June 20, 2025. Before he took his leadership position, Iwata worked as a part-time programmer for HAL Laboratory alongside Sakurai, with some of his work being the earlyKirbygames. Sakurai notes that he and Iwata were 10 years apart in age, and he will soon be as old as Iwata was when he passed away 10 years ago.
There still isn’tmuch information known aboutKirby Air Ridersat this time, aside from what could be gathered from the game’s initial announcement trailer. Fans have naturally been speculating about howKirby Air Riderscould build on its 2003 GameCube predecessor by adding new playable characters and retaining popular modes like City Trial. Fans might get to see these features in action whenKirby Air Riderslaunches on the Switch 2 in 2025, which is already shaping up to be a banner year for mascot kart racers thanks toMario Kart WorldandSonic Racing: CrossWorlds.
Kirby Air Riders
Directed by Kirby and Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai, Kirby Air Riders is a new racing game starring the adorable pink puff, and a sequel to the GameCube classic.
