A Nintendo Direct presentation focused entirely on Kirby Air Riders will take place on Tuesday, August 19 at 9 a.m. ET/6 a.m. PT.
The roughly 45-minute livestream will air on Nintendo’s YouTube and Twitch channels and offer a deep dive into the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 racing game with director Masahiro Sakurai. Notably, this is the Kirby creator’s first game since 2018’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Join us on Aug 19 at 6 a.m. PT for a #KirbyAirRiders Direct with director Mr. Sakurai. The livestreamed presentation will last roughly 45 minutes and provide an in-depth look at the upcoming #NintendoSwitch2 game. #NintendoDirect
Watch here: https://t.co/uf69HOCH5b— Kirby Air Riders (@KirbyAirRiders) August 18, 2025
Beyond Sakurai’s involvement, the Nintendo Direct should also be interesting because we haven’t seen any gameplay from Air Riders yet. Nintendo unveiled the game in a brief cinematic trailer during the big Switch 2 Direct in April, but we haven’t seen or heard anything since.
Kirby Air Riders is the sequel to the cult classic Kirby Air Ride for the GameCube. That 2003 racer was also Sakurai’s last time working on a Kirby game, given that he’s since directed multiple Smash Bros. games, as well as Kid Icarus: Uprising. Therefore, there’s a lot of anticipation to see what the legendary game creator has been cooking up.
On top of all of that, Air Riders is set for a 2025 launch, so we’ll presumably get a release date during the Direct. This will would provide more clarity on the Switch 2’s first-party lineup for the rest of the year. In addition to Air Riders, we know that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment are also set to drop on Switch 2 in 2025, but we don’t yet have release dates for them.
It should be noted, however, that Air Riders isn’t the only new Kirby content coming to Switch 2 this year. On August 28, an enhanced version of 2022’s acclaimed Kirby and the Forgotten Land will launch on the system and include the new Star-Crossed World expansion.
The Nintendo Direct also isn’t the only big gaming stream happening on August 19. At 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT, Canadian-born The Game Awards creator Geoff Keighley will host his annual Gamescom Opening Night Live show, offering a look at new games like Resident Evil Requiem and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.
Image credit: Nintendo
Source: Nintendo
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