Image: Nintendo
Alongside an update to Donkey Kong Bananza, a new update for Kirby Air Riders has also been released today.
This particular update adds support for three more amiibo. This includes the Meta Knight, King Dedede and Chef Kawasaki figures. As previously confirmed, these amiibo are due to arrive on 5th March 2026. Apart from this, Version 1.3.1 also includes multiple balance adjustments and bug fixes.
As usual, the latest game update may not be compatible with replays from existing versions, so be sure to save and back up everything beforehand.
Here’s the full rundown of this update for Kirby Air Riders on Switch 2 via Nintendo’s official support page:
On this page: Kirby Air Riders: Ver. 1.3.1 (Released February 24, 2026)
1.General2.Balance Adjustments3.Bug Fixes
Kirby Air Riders: Ver. 1.3.1 (Released February 24, 2026)
General
The following amiibo figures are now supported.
Meta Knight & Shadow Star
King Dedede & Tank Star
Chef Kawasaki & Hop Star
Balance Adjustments
The performance of certain riders has been adjusted.
Rider name
Adjustment details
King Dedede
Affected modes: City Trial/Air Ride
Increased attack detection for Quick Spin during Special.
Waddle Doo
Affected modes: All modes
Improved Turn performance on the ground.
Gooey
Affected modes: City Trial/Air Ride
Lengthened the amount of time Special is active.
Cappy
Affected modes: City Trial/Air Ride
Lowered Top Speed of Special.
Affected modes: Air Ride/Top Ride
Lowered durability of the mushroom cap.
Affected mode: Top Ride
Lengthened the amount of time it takes for the mushroom cap to come back.
Scarfy
Affected mode: Top Ride
Raised Top Speed in angry state.
Noir Dedede
Affected mode: Top Ride
Lowered Turn performance.
The performance of some machines has been adjusted.
Machine name
Adjustment details
Warp Star
Affected mode: Top Ride
Raised Top Speed on the ground.
Winged Star
Affected mode: Top Ride
Raised Top Speed while gliding.
Machine will now jump higher when going over jump ramps, etc.
Slick Star
Affected mode: Top Ride
Raised Top Speed on the ground.
Bulk Star
Affected mode: Top Ride
Increased charging speed while drifting.
Reduced amount of charge-gauge consumption during Boost Dash.
Swerve Star
Affected modes: City Trial/Air Ride
Increased charging speed.
Strengthened acceleration of Boost Dash.
Turbo Star
Affected modes: All modes
Raised Top Speed on the ground.
Jet Star
Affected modes: City Trial/Air Ride
Weakened acceleration of Boost Dash.
It’s now harder to maintain speed on perfect landings when landing from a course gimmick.
Wheelie Bike
Affected mode: Top Ride
Raised Top Speed on the ground.
Machine will now jump higher when going over jump ramps, etc.
Rex Wheelie
Affected modes: All modes
Strengthened acceleration when going over a jump ramp, etc.
Affected modes: City Trial/Air Ride
Affected mode: Top Ride
Weakened deceleration when hitting a wall.
Wheelie Scooter
Affected mode: Top Ride
Lowered Top Speed on the ground.
Hop Star
Affected modes: City Trial/Air Ride
It’s now easier to maintain speed on perfect landings.
Affected mode: Top Ride
Vampire Star
Affected modes: City Trial/Air Ride
Raised Top Speed while gliding.
Affected mode: Top Ride
Reduced reaction from rivals when preyed upon.
Paper Star
Affected mode: Top Ride
Raised Top Speed while gliding.
Strengthened acceleration while gliding.
Chariot
Affected mode: Top Ride
Machine will now jump higher when going over jump ramps, etc.
Battle Chariot
Affected mode: Top Ride
Raised Top Speed on the ground.
Machine will now jump higher when going over jump ramps, etc.
Tank Star
Affected mode: Top Ride
Raised Top Speed on the ground.
Weakened deceleration during Boost Charge.
Transform Star
Affected mode: Top Ride
Raised Top Speed on the ground.
Raised Top Speed while gliding. (Star mode only.)
Machine will now jump higher when going over jump ramps, etc. (Bike mode only.)
The performance of some Copy Abilities has been adjusted.
Copy Ability name
Adjustment details
Wheel
Affected mode: Top Ride
Raised Top Speed on the ground.
Improved Turn performance while drifting.
Steel Ball
Affected mode: Top Ride
Raised Top Speed on the ground.
Weakened deceleration while drifting.
Missile
Affected mode: Top Ride
Raised Top Speed on the ground.
Bug Fixes
Improved communication stability during online play.
There was a problem in the Checklist where the number of events, machines, riders, etc. would not be counted correctly in applicable tasks. This has been fixed so that even if the issue has already occurred, players can restore counts to the correct number by restarting the game.
Fixed an issue in the Checklist where rewards for completing all the tasks for Air Ride, Top Ride, City Trial, and Road Trip could not be obtained.
Fixed an issue in the Checklist where the task “Hit 2 riders with Kaboombs in a single race” would not be considered accomplished in an online match, even if conditions were met.
Fixed an issue where multiples of the same legendary-machine parts would sometimes appear during online matches in City Trial.
Fixed an issue in the Air Ride course Cyberion Highway where riders would sometimes go off course after getting off the grind rails and be unable to return to the course.
Fixed an issue where, by performing a Quick Spin on a grind rail just before a specific rider’s Special would end, the Special would not end.
Fixed an issue in the Air Ride course Crystalline Fissure where riders could go at abnormally fast speeds when jumping out of the ground of the half-pipe using the Drill Copy Ability.
There was a problem with Taranza where spider silk could be produced even when in a frozen state from something like a rival’s Freeze Copy Ability, so the frozen state could be quickly lifted. This issue has been fixed so that Taranza cannot produce silk when frozen.
Fixed an issue where headwear was not reflected when riders were randomized in Local Play.
Fixed an issue where, if a player-controlled Scarfy was near when a Transform Star placed in a garage transforms, Scarfy could end up entering angry state.
Fixed an issue in the Air Ride course Checker Knights where the appearance effects of the jump ramps that appear and disappear were sometimes out of alignment with their actual position.
Fixed an issue with Transform Star where it would sometimes not accelerate if a Boost Dash was performed when a mode switch finished.
Fixed an issue where certain Copy Abilities wouldn’t work properly after Scarfy’s angry state ended while the Copy Abilities were activated.
Fixed an issue where the thumbnails for My Machines would, in rare instances, be incorrect.
Fixed an issue in City Trial where items would sometimes not appear when destroying crystals in the underground area with Knuckle Joe’s automatic attack.
Fixed an issue in Free Run where, after recording a Personal Best with Transform Star (star mode or bike mode), the Best Run data could not be loaded when trying to start a race in a different mode from the one in which the Personal Best was recorded in.
Fixed an issue where online-events records could sometimes be used as a reference value for the “High Score” search condition in Spectate.
Since records that could not be produced in normal play were sometimes used as a reference value, all reference values for “High Score” have been initialized in this latest update.
“High Score” search results will temporarily not be displayed until players race with and on the corresponding machines/courses.
Fixed an issue where the game would stop progressing if the course was randomized during a Top Ride Series in a paddock.
Made several other miscellaneous gameplay fixes.
Note: Ver. 1.3.1 may not be compatible with replays from Ver. 1.3.0. Ver. 1.3.1 is not compatible with replays from Ver. 1.2.0 and earlier. Convert replays you want to keep to video files by selecting Record on the playback-settings screen within Cached Data and Data Replay before downloading the update. (Note: A microSD Express card is required to use this function.)
This is the second update for Kirby Air Riders of 2026, but according to a previous update from the game director Masahiro Sakurai, fans shouldn’t expect much else, as the racer released with “everything” from the start. There are also in-game events taking place for a year.
The latest update follows Version 1.3.0, which added GameShare support. balance adjustments and bug fixes.
Have you tried out this game on the Switch 2? How are you finding it so far? Let us know in the comments.
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Liam is a news writer and reviewer on Nintendo Life. He’s been writing about games for more than 15 years and is a lifelong fan of many iconic video game characters.