Nintendo’s second Kirby Air Riders Direct is this week, and will last an hour
Masahiro Sakurai had already presented a 47-minute Kirby Air Riders Direct in August
Nintendo has announced that its second Nintendo Direct based on Kirby Air Riders is coming this week, and it’s even longer than the first one.
The company published a Kirby Air Riders Direct video in August 19, with director Masahiro Sakurai explaining the game in great detail.
The video lasted a total of 47 minutes, leading to some light ribbing on social media from people pointing out that Sakurai had spent longer explaining one game than many multi-game Nintendo Direct presentations last.
Sakurai seemingly isn’t done breaking down the game, however, which is why a second Kirby Air Riders Direct, this time lasting a full hour, will air on Thursday, October 23 at 6am PT / 9am ET / 2pm BST.
“Join us on October 23 at 6 am PT for a second Kirby Air Riders Direct with director Mr Sakurai,” Nintendo posted on its official X account. “The livestreamed presentation will last roughly 60 minutes and feature more info on the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 game”.
In the first Kirby Air Riders Direct, Sakurai explained why he decided to follow up Super Smash Bros Ultimate with the racing sequel.
According to Sakurai, Air Riders was born following a “strong request” from Nintendo’s leadership that he explore a sequel to the GameCube original.
Join us on Oct. 23 at 6 a.m. PT for a second #KirbyAirRiders Direct with director Mr. Sakurai. The livestreamed presentation will last roughly 60 minutes and feature more info on the upcoming #NintendoSwitch2 game.
Watch here: https://t.co/MS7fAYcd3R pic.twitter.com/nkPcQDYQd5
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) October 21, 2025
“You might be wondering why I ended up creating a new Kirby Air Ride game,” Sakurai said. “There was a strong request from Mr. [Shinya] Takahashi, head of software development at Nintendo, and Mr. [Satoshi] Mitsuhara, the president of HAL Laboratory at the time.”
He continued: “At the time, I was working on the DLC for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and wasn’t really able to get around to the request, but I managed to create a written proposal at high speed.”
Kirby Air Riders will be released on Nintendo Switch 2 on November 20, and will be priced at $70 / £60.
VGC went hands-on with the game during Gamescom and said the game “may be deceptively deep despite its simple controls”.
“Despite its initial apparent simplicity, Kirby Air Riders feels like it’s going to need some extra time – a review period’s worth, say – to determine whether City Trial gets better the more it’s played, or whether driving around its single environment eventually starts to feel too repetitive,” we wrote.
