Publisher and developer Panic (Firewatch) has announced Playdate pre-orders go live on July 29, allowing those curious the chance to finally reserve one of their new handhelds.
When Playdate pre-orders go live on July 29, they’ll be available over on the device’s official play.date site, starting 10 AM Pacific / 1 PM Eastern. As there is only one model, the Playdate will cost $179 to pre-order, and there’s an optional cover accessory for $29 – as well as a bundle with both for $199.
It’s worth noting pre-orders will require the full amount for your pre-order up front, but can be cancelled at any time for a full refund. There’s also a limit of two Playdate handhelds per person, to hopefully stop scalpers.
Panic noted they don’t expect to sell out of Playdate handhelds because “everyone will get a virtual place in line,” and they’re looking to ship around 20,000 Playdate units later this year. Any one ordering a Playdate outside the initial 20,000 units will get their orders fulfilled sometime in 2022.
Announced back in 2019, the Playdate is a retro-focused handheld that features a non backlit black and white screen, a directional pad, A and B face buttons, and a rotatable crank that can be used for in-game mechanics or features. It will ship with twelve indie games with later games added at no extra cost.
