Bandai Namco also developed the Sakurai-directed Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Kirby Air Riders was one of several first-party titles that Nintendo announced for the Switch 2 during its recent Direct presentation, though it revealed little about the game with a brief CG teaser. We did, however, get confirmation that Masahiro Sakurai – the Super Smash Bros. mastermind who also directed 2003’s Kirby Air Ride – is returning 22 years on to direct the sequel. Now, Sakurai himself has revealed another crucial tidbit.

Taking to Twitter, Sakurai recently revealed that Kirby Air Riders is going to be developed by Bandai Namco Studios. Of course, this isn’t the first time that Bandai Namco will develop a Masahiro Sakurai-directed title, having led development on Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS, as well as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Bandai Namco has also worked on other first-party Nintendo titles in the form of Mario Kart 7, Mario Kat Tour, Mario Sports Superstars, and ARMS.

In 2023, Bandai Namco formally announced that it had established Studio 2 and Studio S, a team dedicated to working on projects commissioned by Nintendo.

Kirby Air Riders will launch exclusively for the Nintendo Switch 2 sometime this year.