Playdate Console Price Increasing In April, New Curated Storefront Has Gone Live

The Playdate handheld console will be getting a price increase next month, creator Panic has announced. Originally launching last year for the price of $179, the compact console with a built-in hand-crank will cost $199 from April 7 due to an increase in manufacturing costs.

"That $20 delta is largely because our factory recently gave us the inevitable news that in 2023, the price of building a single Playdate is going up," Panic co-founder Cabel Sasser explained in a press statement.

Also announced for the cute console is an on-device store known as Catalog, which Panic has described as a "boutique digital on-device and web-based storefront" that has launched with 16 games. 11 of the titles available right now are brand-new, and two games will be free to all Playdate owners as an extra bonus for Playdate Season One. More games will be added over time and prices for the launch titles range from $1 to $15. The full list includes:

Reel Steal by Sweet Baby Inc. -- Free
Recommendation Dog!! by Sweet Baby Inc. -- Free
Carve Jr. by Chuhai Labs -- $8
Direct Drive by DAC Vector -- $15
Playmaker by Dustin Mierau -- $15
Bloom by RNG Party -- $10
Skew: A The Last Worker Spinoff by Oiffy -- $6
Swap Machina by NaOH & Zion D. Hill -- $5
Down the Oubliette by Rebecca Konig -- $5
Eyeland by Ron Lent -- $2
Grand Tour Legends by Iorama -- $6
Hidey Spot by Panic -- $6
Tapeworm Disco Puzzle by Lowtek Games -- $9
The Botanist by Cadin Batrack -- $9
Word Trip by Shaun Inman, Matthew Grimm, and Charlie Davis -- $6
A Joke That's Worth 99 cents by kamibox -- $1

Over 25,000 Playdate consoles have been sold since it launched in 2022, with the console originally using a seasonal model to introduce new games to its audience. "As a piece of gaming hardware, the Playdate certainly punches above its weight," Steven Petite wrote in GameSpot's Playdate review. "It has a minimalistic design aesthetic that both charms and gels with what I think the Playdate is all about: falling in love with games all over again by diving into experiences that feel both brand-new and nostalgic."

Not just a unique handheld console, the Playdate is also surprisingly great to watch Tenet on, just as director Christopher Nolan intended.