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Kirby Air Riders (Switch 2): all the updates (latest: Ver. 1.2.0 / Next: Ver. ???)

On this page, you will find all there is to know about the various updates for Kirby Air Riders (and the Kirby Air Riders: Global Test Ride demo) on Nintendo Switch 2.

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Kirby Air Riders – Ver. ???

  • Release date: TBA
  • Patch notes:

No patch notes available yet. This update brings the following to the game:

  • Bug fixes.
    • Fixes the following issue: if you possess a specific custom Machine, errors may occur when hosting a Paddock, or joining another player’s Paddock.
      • Workaround: set your custom Machines to private.

  • Additional notes: none
  • Source: Nintendo

Kirby Air Riders – Ver. 1.2.0

  • Release date: December 11th/12th 2025
  • Patch notes:

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 Adjustments

The performance of a rider has been adjusted.

Rider name Adjustment details
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.

Machine name Adjustment details
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

  • Lowered 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 crashing while nearly perpendicular to 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.


  • Additional notes: Replays from Ver. 1.1.1 may not be compatible with Ver. 1.2.0.
  • Source: Nintendo

Kirby Air Riders – Ver. 1.1.0 and Ver. 1.1.1

  • Release date: November 19th 2025
  • Patch notes:

General

  • Online play has been added.
    • You can play online through the Connect menu or through the main menu for each mode.
    • The Online tab has been added to the Checklist.
  • Local wireless matches and LAN play are now available.
    • You can access this through Local Play in the Connect menu.
  • The Swap Replay match format has been added to Air Ride.
  • The Team Battle match format has been added to City Trial.
  • Saved replay data can now be converted into video files.
    • You can convert a replay to a video file by selecting Record on the settings screens for either Cached Data or Data Replay in the Replay menu.
    • A microSD Express card is required to use this functionality.
  • Replays can now be uploaded online and shared with other players.
    • You can post replays from Details, which is displayed after selecting individual replay data in either Data Replay or Movie Replay through the Replay menu.
    • Replays can be viewed through Spectate in the Connect menu.
  • You can now train figure players (FPs) by scanning a Kirby Air Riders series amiibo.
    • You can scan amiibo by selecting amiibo in the Extras menu or through the machine/rider select screens for each mode.
  • Daily Air Ride and Limited-Time Events modes have been added.
    • You can participate by selecting Daily or Events from the main menu.
  • My Machines can now be set to private.
    • If a My Machine is set to private, you will not be able to use that machine in online modes and other players will not be able to see it.
    • You can set group settings through the My Machine Customizations menu accessed through the Options button in the Connect menu.
    • Individual settings can also be made for each machine via the My Machine list screen.
  • Various balance adjustments made to Road Trip.

Online

  • Added restrictions so that players with very unstable communication environments can’t open paddocks or create matches in an existing paddock.
    • Players with very unstable communication environments will still be able to join paddocks and matches hosted by other players.
    • You can check the status of your communication environment through Options in the Connect menu.

Bug Fixes

  • Implemented online-play stability fixes.
  • Fixed an issue where matching for online matches did not successfully connect after a long period of time.
  • Fixed an issue where online matches would sometimes not start properly.
  • Fixed an issue where the game would sometimes not progress when certain actions were performed in a paddock.
  • Fixed an issue where the game would sometimes not progress when certain actions were performed while joining friends for a Quick Match in City Trial with the Team Battle format.
  • Fixed an issue where the game would sometimes not progress when certain actions were performed while playing Air Ride using the Swap Replay format with multiple players on one system.
  • Fixed an issue where the game would sometimes not progress when performing certain actions while using figure players (FPs) in Local Play.
  • Fixed a rare issue where the game would not progress when playing Road Trip.
  • Fixed an issue where certain goals in the Checklist would sometimes not be marked as cleared after the conditions were met.
  • Made several other miscellaneous gameplay fixes.

  • Additional notes:

  • Personal Best scores recorded in Ver. 1.0.0 will be deleted.
  • Replays from Ver. 1.1.0 may not be compatible with Ver. 1.1.1. Note that replays are not compatible with Ver. 1.0.0, so you will not be able to watch replays if your software still uses this version.

Kirby Air Riders: Global Test Ride Demo – Ver. 1.0.1

  • Release date: November 13th/14th 2025
  • Patch notes:

  • Improved communication stability during online play.
  • Fixed an issue where City Trial matching sometimes did not successfully connect after a long period of time.
  • Fixed an issue where City Trial matches would sometimes not start properly.
  • Fixed an issue where other players’ games might not progress, such as a player experiencing a communication error in a paddock.
  • Made several other miscellaneous gameplay fixes.

You may still experience matching and communication issues after this update. If a match does not start after 90 seconds or more on the matching screen, try exiting the matching screen. If you cannot exit, try restarting the software.


  • Additional notes: none
  • Source: Nintendo

Kirby Air Riders – Ver. 1.0.0

  • Release date: November 13th 2025
  • Patch notes:

No patch notes available. This is the base version of the game.


  • Additional notes: none
  • Source: game

How to download updates for Kirby Air Riders on Nintendo Switch 2?

To download the updates for Kirby Air Riders, you have three options:

  • let the console do its thing if you have automatic downloads activated, and didn’t completely turn it off

If not…

  • try to launch the game from the Home Menu while being connected to the internet. You should get a prompt when doing so: simply follow the instructions on screen;

OR

  • select the game > press either + or – to go to the Options page > select Software update > select Via the Internet.

To check that you have the latest version installed, simply select the game on the Home Menu, and press – or + to go to the Options: the version number is displayed just below the game title.

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Founder and main writer for Perfectly Nintendo. Tried really hard to find something funny and witty to put here, but had to admit defeat.