Kirby Air Riders

Kirby Air Riders is a 2025 racing video game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch 2. Players control Kirby characters in four game modes including racing, traversal, and combat. Kirby Air Riders includes all modes from its GameCube predecessor Kirby Air Ride (2003), with additional characters, vehicles, customization options, and features, including a single-player story mode and online multiplayer.

Air Riders was the first Kirby game directed by the franchise's creator Masahiro Sakurai since Kirby Air Ride. Nintendo EPD and HAL Laboratory pitched him the concept in 2021, and production commenced in early 2022 after Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018) concluded development. Shogo Sakai and Noriyuki Iwadare, who worked with Sakurai on the Super Smash Bros. series and Kid Icarus: Uprising (2012), composed the soundtrack. The music was composed with a live orchestra, and included multiple vocal performances for the game's main theme song. Sakurai supervised many parts of the development process, including the music composition, course design, story, and game balancing.

Nintendo announced Kirby Air Riders in April 2025, and promoted it with Nintendo Direct presentations, Nintendo Music releases, and demos for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. During demo events, comparisons were made between the game and Nintendo's racing game Mario Kart World (2025), and the character Rick gained popularity among Kirby fans. Amiibo figures based on characters and machines featured in the game were also released. Kirby Air Riders was released worldwide on November 20, 2025, being supported by post-launch updates and online events. Kirby Air Riders received generally positive reviews, with praise for its presentation, customization, and mechanical depth, though the game modes drew mixed responses. It has since become one of the best-selling Nintendo Switch 2 games.