“I can promise my game will be significantly less than $80”: Indie dev stunned by Kirby Air Riders Switch 2 reveal after working on their own Air Ride successor for months

I’m pretty sure all but exactly one Nintendo fan had a big ol’ goofy grin on their face when the upcoming Switch 2 game Kirby Air Riders was announced. It’s a successor to a cult classic racing game from 22 years ago, Smash Bros. legend Masahiro Sakurai is back at the helm, and heck, it’s Kirby on a hoverboard – what’s not to like?

Well, from the perspective of someone working on their own independent Kirby Air Ride spiritual successor, there’s quite a lot not to like about this situation, and that’s exactly the position indie dev Isaac Kasdorf has found themselves in. See, Kasdorf has been working on Robo Ride & Glide, which is explicitly described as a “Kirby Air Ride Successor,” since at least June 2024 according to its Steam update history. And now that Nintendo itself has announced an official successor, well, I can only imagine it puts a lot of pressure on Kasdorf to deliver something truly special.