Nintendo has cancelled the Kirby Air Riders Halloween event, “Trick or Treat!”, on Switch 2. The City Trial event went live on October 28 at 8pm PT, and about a day later players hit a bug that freezes the screen mid-match. Nintendo says it will run an event with the same rewards, including the Ghost headwear, again later. No new date has been announced yet.
The first notice came from Nintendo’s Japanese support account, @nintendo_cs (任天堂サポート), on October 30 at 08:00 UTC (5pm JST). The game’s English account, @KirbyAirRiders, confirmed it at 16:15 UTC the same day.
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What Nintendo said
Here is our translation of the Japanese post, line by line:
“[Notice: Kirby Air Riders event cancelled] We have confirmed a bug in the currently running event ‘Trick or Treat!’ that makes the screen freeze temporarily during play. For this reason, we are cancelling this event. We deeply apologise for the inconvenience to our customers. We plan to hold an event where this event’s rewards can be earned again. We will let you know once the details are decided.”
The English post on @KirbyAirRiders says the same thing in its own words: the event “has been canceled due to an issue that may cause the game screen to temporarily freeze during gameplay,” and Nintendo plans “to hold the event again at a later date, giving players another opportunity to earn the rewards offered in this event.”
The Ghost headwear was the event's headline reward and is promised again in the rerun. Image: Nintendo
Trick or Treat! event: dates, rules and rewards
Nintendo announced the event on October 22. This is the schedule and the rules it published, with the times converted:
| Item | As announced by Nintendo |
|---|---|
| Mode | City Trial, with special rules |
| Rules | Attacking rivals makes more power-ups appear; eating sweets restores health after you take damage |
| Headline reward | Ghost headwear for your rider |
| Planned start | Oct 28, 8pm PT / 11pm ET (Oct 29, 03:00 UTC; noon JST) |
| Planned end | Nov 2, 7pm PT / 10pm ET (Nov 3, 03:00 UTC; noon JST) |
| Cancelled | Oct 30, 08:00 UTC (Japan notice), about 29 hours in |
| Rerun | Planned, date not announced |
Nintendo’s own posts only name the Ghost headwear. Nintendo Everything and Japan’s Game*Spark report that event points also unlocked Halloween-themed materials. Some reports put the end date at November 4. That is the end of the separate Halloween menu theme. The event itself was listed to end on November 2 (PT).
What went wrong
Nintendo describes the bug only as the screen “temporarily” freezing during play. It hasn’t given a cause. Nintendo Life embedded a player’s Bluesky clip of the freeze. Nintendo Everything blames the event rules themselves. One hit makes a rider drop all their boosts as items, and riders were being hit several times a second. According to its report, the game freezes when there are that many items on screen. The match keeps running in the background, so a frozen rider often crashes or falls off the stage. Nintendo hasn’t confirmed this explanation.
The Halloween Paddock theme was announced separately, running to Nov 4, 7pm PT. Image: Nintendo
Will the Kirby Air Riders Halloween event come back?
Yes, Nintendo says it will, but the details are still open. Here is what we know as of October 31, 02:00 UTC:
- Known: Nintendo plans another event where you can earn the Trick or Treat! rewards, and says it will announce details when they’re decided.
- Not known: when it will run, whether it will still have a Halloween theme, or whether a patch will fix the freeze first.
- Not stated: whether points or rewards you earned before the cancellation carry over. Nintendo’s notices don’t mention progress, so don’t count on it.
- Not mentioned: the separate seasonal decorations. Nintendo announced a Halloween theme for the main menu and Paddock until Nov 4, 7pm PT, and autumn decor in Skyah until Nov 11, 7pm PT. The cancellation notice only covers the event.
Trick or Treat! was the second limited-time event @KirbyAirRiders announced in October. The first, “Pulse-Pounding Air Ride!”, gave out fall-themed stickers and a Dragoon Helm. Nintendo announced both events days before they started (Trick or Treat! six days ahead), so watch @KirbyAirRiders and Nintendo Support for the rerun date.
Skyah's autumn decor is listed until Nov 11, 7pm PT. Image: Nintendo
What’s next
We’ll add the rerun date to this post once Nintendo announces it. In the meantime, our Halloween 2026 event end dates list covers the events in other games that are still running. Our new Switch 2 games this week roundup and our Switch 2 games coming out in November calendar cover what’s next on the console. If you’re shopping, the Nintendo eShop Screaming Deals sale ends on November 1. Every story we publish today also goes on our gaming news live page.
Sources: Nintendo Support (@nintendo_cs) on X, Oct 30; @KirbyAirRiders cancellation post, Oct 30; @KirbyAirRiders event announcement, Oct 22; @KirbyAirRiders Ghost headwear post, Oct 26; @KirbyAirRiders Halloween menu theme, Oct 29; Nintendo Life; Nintendo Everything; Game*Spark. Times checked Oct 31, 2026, 02:00 UTC.
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Featured image: Nintendo
