Kirby Air Riderswas 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. Wedid,however, get confirmation that Masahiro Sakurai theSuper Smash Bros.mastermind who also directed 2003sKirby 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 thatKirby Air Ridersis going to be developed by Bandai Namco Studios. Of course, this isnt the first time that Bandai Namco will develop a Masahiro Sakurai-directed title, having led development onSuper Smash Bros. for Wii Uand3DS, as well asSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate. Bandai Namco has also worked on other first-party Nintendo titles in the form ofMario Kart 7, Mario Kat Tour, Mario Sports Superstars, andARMS. 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 Riderswill launch exclusively for the Nintendo Switch 2 sometime this year.