Switch 2 Exclusive Kirby Air Riders is Almost Done Releasing Major Updates

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Masahiro Sakurai, the director of the new Nintendo Switch game Kirby Air Riders, has announced that the development team is wrapping up. While they’re finishing up, he says they might release small updates to improve the game and keep players happy, but there are no promises of further major development.

Released on November 20th, Kirby Air Riders arrived just before the launch of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond on the Switch 2. As a sequel to the classic GameCube game Kirby Air Ride, Kirby Air Riders lets players race as Kirby and a variety of other characters in different courses. The game automatically handles acceleration, letting players focus on steering, boosting, and using special abilities to gain an edge. Each character, or Rider, has a unique special ability, and Kirby himself can have up to four. Beyond the standard single-player and online multiplayer, Kirby Air Riders features a City Trial mode where up to 16 players can compete in team races.

Despite missing the nomination window for The Game Awards 2025, the team behind Kirby Air Riders has continued to release updates, fixing problems and adding new features. However, development on the game is coming to a close. Director Masahiro Sakurai announced on social media that the main development team will disband after the release of version 1.2.0. Patch 1.2.0 launched on December 11th and is necessary for players who want to continue playing online.

Sakurai also mentioned that while the game will receive some balancing and minor adjustments to keep fans happy for years to come, the development team is running out of time. During a Nintendo Direct presentation on October 23rd, Sakurai explained that Kirby Air Riders wasn’t designed for downloadable content or expansions, so all characters can be unlocked simply by playing the game – no extra purchases are needed.

Kirby Air Riders Has New Options for Players To Enjoy

The latest update for Kirby Air Riders (version 1.2.0) lets players use their Amiibo figures in special races against others who also have figures. You scan the figure at a terminal in the race area to participate. Players can now also test out courses while waiting for an online match. After being matched with at least one other player, you can ride around in City Trial mode and explore Skyah. Leaving during this test drive in Air Ride or Top Ride will result in a penalty. The paddock monitor now displays replays, including videos uploaded by other players which are selected randomly. Finally, Local Play is now accessible through the Online Match menu even when you’re not connected to the internet.

What’s next for Sakurai?

Although Kirby Air Riders might receive a couple more updates to keep it popular, it’s currently unknown what plans Sakurai and Sora Ltd. have for the future. With the Switch 2 scheduled to launch several games in 2026, such as Yoshi and the Mysterious Book and Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, it’s uncertain if Sora Ltd. will release any new games that year.

Kirby Air Riders Version 1.2.0 Update Patch Notes (December 11, 2025)

General

  • You can now scan amiibo in the paddock and race with figure players (FPs).
    • They can be scanned from the amiibo terminal in the paddock.
  • You can now try out courses solo in Online Matches during matchmaking.
    • In City Trial, you can ride around Skyah after being matched with at least one person.
    • In Air Ride and Top Ride, attempting to leave mid-matchmaking after you’ve entered the test-course screen will result in a penalty.
  • It is now possible to seek playback position when playing a video from Movie Replay under Spectate in the Connect menu.
  • Replay videos will now play on the monitor in the paddock.
    • Replay videos uploaded by players will be played at random.
  • You can now select Local Play through Online Match in each mode when you are not connected to the internet.
  • You can now set Featured Player to Auto, even when the Replay playback setting is set to Full.
  • The version number will now display in the lower-right corner of the screen when bringing up the pause menu in Free Run and Time Attack.
  • When you reach the ending of Road Trip, the “Everything Resets” memory will be unlocked even if you didn’t unlock it.
    • This memory will be unlocked in the same way even for save data where the player has already reached the ending.

Balance AdjustmentsThe performance of a rider has been adjusted.

Rick

Affected modes: City Trial/Air Ride

  • Lowered HP and Defense.
  • Lowered the power of the Rip-Roaring Rick Special.

The performance of some machines has been adjusted.

All Machines

Affected modes: All Modes

  • The backlash when hitting a wall with Quick Spin has been weakened. For some machines, the condition where you can hit a wall with Quick Spin and still maintain high speed has been reduced.

Star-type machines

Affected mode: City Trial

  • Raised initial Defense value.

Tank-type machines

Affected mode: City Trial

  • Raised initial Defense value.
  • Raised Defense growth rate.

Bike-type machines

Affected mode: City Trial

  • Lowered Defense growth rate.

Chariot-type machines

Affected mode: City Trial

  • Lowered Defense growth rate.

Warp Star

Affected modes: City Trial/Air Ride

  • Strengthened deceleration when continuing to touch a wall.

Winged Star

Affected modes: City Trial/Air Ride

  • Strengthened deceleration when continuing to touch a wall.

Shadow Star

Affected modes: City Trial/Air Ride

  • Strengthened deceleration when continuing to touch a wall.

Slick Star

Affected mode: City Trial

  • Raised Top Speed growth rate.

Affected modes: City Trial/Air Ride

  • Strengthened deceleration when continuing to touch a wall.
  • Strengthened deceleration when crashing while nearly perpendicular to a wall.

Formula Star

Affected mode: Top Ride

  • Strengthened deceleration when crashing while nearly perpendicular to a wall.

Bulk Star

Affected mode: City Trial

  • Raised Defense growth rate.

Affected mode: Top Ride

  • Strengthened deceleration when crashing while nearly perpendicular to a wall.

Turbo Star

Affected mode: City Trial

  • Raised growth rate for Top Speed when riding on the ground.

Affected modes: City Trial/Air Ride

  • Strengthened deceleration when continuing to touch a wall.
  • Strengthened deceleration when crashing while nearly perpendicular to a wall.

Affected mode: Top Ride

  • Strengthened deceleration when crashing while nearly perpendicular to a wall.

Jet Star

Affected modes: City Trial/Air Ride

  • Strengthened deceleration when continuing to touch a wall.
  • Strengthened deceleration when crashing while nearly perpendicular to a wall.
  • Raised braking ability when exceeding maximum speed.

Rex Wheelie

Affected mode: Top Ride

  • Strengthened deceleration when crashing while nearly perpendicular to a wall.

Vampire Star

Affected modes: City Trial/Air Ride

  • Strengthened deceleration when continuing to touch a wall.
  • Strengthened deceleration when crashing while nearly perpendicular to a wall.

Battle Chariot

Affected mode: City Trial

  • Lowered Top Speed growth rate.

Affected mode: Top Ride

  • Strengthened deceleration when crashing while nearly perpendicular to a wall.

Tank Star

Affected mode: City Trial

  • Raised Top Speed growth rate.

Affected mode: Top Ride

  • Strengthened deceleration when crashing while nearly perpendicular to a wall.

Bull Tank

Affected mode: Top Ride

  • Strengthened deceleration when crashing while nearly perpendicular to a wall.

Transform Star

Affected modes: City Trial/Air Ride

  • Strengthened deceleration when continuing to touch a wall.

Names of machines under each machine type are as follows:

  • Star-type: Warp Star, Compact Star, Winged Star, Shadow Star, Wagon Star, Slick Star, Formula Star, Bulk Star, Rocket Star, Swerve Star, Turbo Star, Jet Star, Hop Star, Vampire Star, Paper Star, Transform Star (Star type)
  • Tank-type: Tank Star, Bull Tank
  • Bike-type: Wheelie Bike, Rex Wheelie, Wheelie Scooter, Transform Star (Bike type)
  • Chariot-type: Chariot, Battle Chariot

Bug Fixes

  • Improved communication stability during online play.
  • Fixed an issue with timer progression that could appear when playing for a long time in Air Ride or Top Ride Free Run mode.
  • Fixed an issue where “The Mysterious Bird Dyna Blade” City Trial event appearance rate would sometimes be lower than expected.
  • Fixed an issue where My Music settings were not reflected in City Trial Ranked Match or Quick Match.
  • Fixed an issue where My Machines purchased from the Machine Market would not appear in City Trial offline.
  • Fixed an issue where the sequence that plays when players complete a Checklist tab would sometimes not play properly when using an Open Block to complete that tab.
  • Fixed an issue with the following Checklist tasks where, if data was deleted by selecting Checklist in Delete Data after some conditions were achieved, the clear conditions would not be properly counted and the task could no longer be achieved:
    • Air Ride tasks: “Play every course,” “Set records with at least 10 kinds of machines”
    • Top Ride tasks: “Win on all courses”
    • City Trial tasks: “Play 8 kinds of Stadium contests,” ”Play 16 kinds of Stadium contests”
    • Online tasks: “Complete all courses without falling off a cliff,” “Play every course,” “Race on 5 different courses in Single Race,” “Play 10 kinds of Stadium contests,” “Play 15 kinds of Stadium contests”
    • Fixes have been implemented so that these conditions will be properly counted even for save data where these issues have occurred.
  • Fixed an issue where defeating a rider in an Online Match would not be counted toward the “Defeat other riders a total of 50 times” task in the City Trial checklist.
  • Fixed an issue where the “Land on the 1,000-point platform” Checklist task achieved through the Skydive 1 Stadium event could not be achieved when another player landed on the same platform in an Online Match.
  • Fixed an issue where if you performed a Quick Spin with Gooey on the Galactic Nova course in Air Ride on some grind rails, you would sometimes slip through terrain.
  • Fixed an issue where Gooey could glide in unusual places by performing a Quick Spin.
  • Fixed an issue where, when Gooey would continuously use Quick Spins while in possession of some Copy Abilities, the Copy Abilities would not drop as expected.
  • Fixed an issue where users could sometimes not upload replay data when they had completed certain courses quickly or retired early.
  • Fixed an issue where vacant machines that came close to a rider whose machine was destroyed would sometimes move away from the rider.
  • Fixed an issue in Road Trip where, while on the road, if you performed certain actions, you would sometimes not be able to advance to the next challenge.
  • Fixed an issue where handicap settings set for P1 in offline play in each mode would be reflected even in Online Matches.
  • Fixed an issue where an error would sometimes occur when returning to the previous screen immediately after transitioning to Rivals in the Collection menu when you have more than a certain number of licenses in your possession.
  • Fixed an issue where Gigantes would sometimes not appear when players riding Gigantes disconnected in the “VS. Gigantes” Stadium event in an Online Match.
  • Fixed an issue where laps could sometimes unintentionally lag while playing on the Crystal Top Ride course in a Road Trip challenge.
  • Fixed an issue where, after purchasing a machine from the Machine Market, if certain actions are performed, the purchased machine could unintentionally end up disappearing and no longer be able to be purchased again.
    • Fixes have been implemented so that machines that have been purchased are displayed even for save data where this issue has occurred.
  • Fixed an issue where, in the Dustup Derby 2 Stadium event in City Trial, when pushed up against a wall when being revived after being defeated by a rival, players would sometimes fall through the wall.
  • Made several other miscellaneous gameplay fixes.

The following issues have been confirmed but are not included among the fixes in this update.

  • An error will occur when opening the Gummies screen in the Collection menu when the number of Gummies is between 8,285 and 8,626. (This does not occur if there are 8,284 or fewer Gummies or 8,627 or more Gummies.)
  • If you unlock the last task in a Checklist using an Open Block and the completion mark is displayed, and afterwards, you transition to another screen with a specific procedure, the completion mark may disappear and you may not be able to receive the completion reward.

These bugs are planned to be fixed in a future update. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Note: Replays from Ver. 1.1.1 may not be compatible with Ver. 1.2.0.

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2025-12-14 04:07