Two downloadable content packs have been released which add additional planes and two new game modes.

While the primary focus is racing, dogfights play a large part in some of SkyDrift's game modes.

Players are rewarded with boost, which provides a temporary burst of speed, by flying acrobatically, low to the ground, or by taking down opponents.

[5] These abilities include such things as missiles, machine guns, mines, or an EMP blast.

[4] Development began with low polygon versions of the game's three settings to hone gameplay, which were later upgraded with details created from primitive shapes.

Artists then took these settings and provided finalized environments while course designers laid out the specific elements to each race.

[7] Two downloadable content packs have been released, both of which are actually included in the main game but require premium unlock keys to be accessed.

The first, entitled Extreme Fighters Pack, was released on September 21, 2011 and adds three additional planes, the Vanguard, Sparrow X1 and Triwing Vintage.

[15] GameSpot's Sean Evans called the graphics "visually striking, with impressive levels of detail".

He did cite occasional issues with locating powerups, which he attributed to "overly saturated lighting effects".

IGN's Lee stated that SkyDrift's soundtrack "doesn't stand out nor does it detract from the overall experience",[16] a sentiment shared with GameZone's Workman.

Eurogamer's Kristan Reed noted that the Xbox 360 version's "controls are spot-on, and it's easy to pick up".

[10] Terry Terrones of GamePro stated that the game was "the definition of easy to play and tough to master".