One Of 2025's Best Racing Games Already Gets Its Last Update, Dev Team Disbanding

As a diehard fan of the GameCube cult classic Kirby Air Ride, the fact that we got a sequel for Nintendo Switch 2 is a dream come true.

Kirby Air Riders is a massive improvement over the original. City Trial is just as chaotic as we remember, but it's the "traditional" racing in Air Ride mode that impressed me the most. There's so much more depth and enjoyment, and being able to play online is an absolute blast.

Dare I say that the game is better than Mario Kart World? It's possible, even if Mario Kart World took home the award for Best Racing Game at The Game Awards.

Given the better than expected reception of Kirby Air Riders, one had to wonder if Nintendo had plans to release DLC for the game, especially since the Nintendo Switch saw massive DLC releases for two of its biggest games in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Unfortunately, that won't be the case, as Masahiro Sakurai confirmed on social media that there won't be any DLC for Kirby Air Riders. In fact, he also said that the development team will be disbanded soon.

As discussed in Air Riders Direct 2, "Kirby's Air Riders" does not have a production setup for DLC or anything like that. The team will be disbanding in the near future as well. Therefore, while we still have a short period of time to make adjustments, we're aiming for a balance that can be enjoyed without issues even years from now. We might be able to tweak it one more time or so, but after that, please enjoy it as the completed balance!

Here's What's In The Newest Kirby Air Riders Patch

Version 1.2.0 for Kirby Air Riders features a host of balance adjustments. Only one is to a rider, and that's Rick; his HP and defense are lowered in City Trial and Air Ride modes.

The same can't be said for machines, though; every machine has gone through balance changes across several, if not all, modes. Additionally, there are some bug fixes addressed by Nintendo as well. You can view the full list of patch notes on Nintendo's website.

To be honest, it's disappointing to see a lack of DLC updates for Kirby Air Riders. I know that it's something Sakurai said during their Nintendo Directs, but given the game's surprise popularity, there was a glimmer of hope that maybe they had changed their mind. Seeing a new City Trial map in a year or so would have been nice.

Ultimately, I can't complain; we have a brand new Kirby Air Ride game that absolutely rocks. As for the future, it's unclear what Sakurai will be up to. All logic points to the next entry in the Super Smash Bros. series, though I'm not sure how they could ever top Ultimate. If there's one man who can pull it off, though, it's Masahiro Sakurai.