 | |
 Playdate with the crank in the open position | |
| Codename | Asheville[1] |
|---|---|
| Developer | Panic Inc. |
| Type | Handheld game console |
| Released | April 19, 2022 |
| Introductory price | US$179[a] |
| Units sold | >70,000[2] |
| System on a chip | STM32F746 |
| CPU | ARM Cortex-M7F @ 168 MHz[b] |
| Memory |
|
| Storage | 4 GBeMMC[3] |
| Display | 2.7-in, 400×240,1-bit, 173ppi |
| Input |
|
| Connectivity |
|
| Dimensions | 76×74×9 mm (2.99×2.91×0.35 in)[4] |
| Weight | 86 g (3 oz) |
| Website | play |
ThePlaydate is ahandheld video game console developed byPanic Inc. The device features amechanical crank and a black-and-white screen. The console was announced in May 2019 and was released in April 2022.[5][6][7]
The device is compact, square, and yellow, featuring a black-and-whitebinary display and various input controls: aD-pad, two game buttons (A and B), a foldable mechanical crank used for gameplay in select titles, a sleep switch, and a menu button.[8] Designed in collaboration with Swedish consumer electronics companyTeenage Engineering, it incorporates a Memory LCD screen made bySharp that visually resemblese-paper.[9] This technology enables each pixel to retain its state (black or white) without constant refreshing, resulting in faster refresh rates, lower power consumption, and a wide 170° viewing angle.[10]
Internally, the Playdate operates on twomicrocontrollers. TheSTM32F746,[11] powered by anARM Cortex-M7F CPU clocked at 168 MHz[b] with an 8 KBL1 cache, manages the console’s core functions, including firmware, graphics, and audio. The processor uses an external 16 MB low-powerpseudo-static RAM chip on the motherboard. TheESP32-D0WDQ6 handles Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. The Playdate includes 4 GB ofeMMC flash storage for games and system data.[12]
The device also includes built-in Wi-Fi connectivity, a mono speaker, a microphone, and a headphone jack with microphone input support. While it contains the necessary hardware for audio over Bluetooth, current software revisions do not yet support this feature.[13]
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Panic has announced two accessories for the device. A purple cover was released simultaneously with the device's 2022 launch, and later offered in aqua and yellow. Panic also released a cover that mimics the look of a pizza box.[14]
A yellow "stereo dock" that charges the Playdate and functions as a speaker and a penholder was announced in 2021,[15] but in 2024 the device was shelved.[16]
Playdate comes with Season One: a collection of 24 games.[3] Every week, two new games of Season One appear on the user's console. The price of Season One is included in the price of the console.[17] The order of released games was unknown until the week they were released, and were revealed to players when they automatically downloaded.
On March 7, 2023, the Catalog on-device and on-web store was added. Playdate owners can purchase and download games directly from the device.[18]
On October 31, 2024, Panic announced that Season Two would be released in 2025.[19]
Games for the Playdate have been produced by Panic as well as indie game developers such asKeita Takahashi,Zach Gage,Bennett Foddy,Lucas Pope, Shaun Inman, andChuck Jordan.[6][20] Panic stated that they were interested in games created byunderrepresented developers and that there were games fromwomen andLGBTQ developers in Playdate's first season.[21]
Games are created using an openly available proprietarysoftware development kit (SDK) that includes asimulator anddebugger. The SDK is compatible with bothC andLua programming languages.[22] It is available for macOS, Windows, and Linux. Simpler tile-based games can be created using Pulp, a more-approachable game development tool from Panic.[23] The device is anopen system and allowssideloading additional games that are not part of a season.[24][better source needed]
The gameYOYOZO, developed by Matt Sephton, was included inArs Technica's "Best Video Games of 2023" list, appearing alongside titles such asSuper Mario Bros. Wonder,The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom,Baldur's Gate 3, and others.[25]
| No. in season | Title | Developed by | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Casual Birder | Diego Garcia | [26] |
| 2 | Whitewater Wipeout | Chuhai Labs | [27][26] |
| 3 | Crankin's Time Travel Adventure | uvula (Keita Takahashi, Ryan Mohler), Matthew Grimm, Shaun Inman | [20][28][26] |
| 4 | Boogie Loops | May-Li Khoe, Andy Matuschak | [26] |
| 5 | Lost Your Marbles | Sweet Baby Inc. | [27][26] |
| 6 | Pick Pack Pup | Nic Magnier, Arthur Hamer | [26] |
| 7 | Flipper Lifter | Serenity Forge | [26] |
| 8 | Echoic Memory | Samantha Kalman, Everest Pipkin, Carol Mertz, Rachelle Viola | [26] |
| 9 | Omaze | Gregory Kogos | [26] |
| 10 | DemonQuest 85 | Alex Ashby, Lawrence Bishop, Duncan Fyfe, Belinda Leung, Jared Emerson-Johnson | [26] |
| 11 | Zipper | Bennett Foddy | [20][28][26] |
| 12 | Hyper Meteor | Vertex Pop (Mobeen Fikree, Robby Duguay, h heron) | [26] |
| 13 | Questy Chess | Dadako | [26] |
| 14 | Executive Golf DX | davemakes | [28][29][26] |
| 15 | Saturday Edition | Chris Makris, A Shell in the Pit (Gord McGladdery, Alfonso Salinas) | [26] |
| 16 | Star Sled | Panic | [30] |
| 17 | Spellcorked! | Jada Gibbs, Nick Splendorr, Ryan Splendorr, Tony Ghostbrite, A Shell in the Pit (Em Halberstadt) | [26] |
| 18 | Inventory Hero | Panic | [30] |
| 19 | Snak | Zach Gage | [20][26] |
| 20 | Sasquatchers | Chuck Jordan, Jared Emerson-Johnson | [20][26] |
| 21 | Forrest Byrnes: Up in Smoke | Nels Anderson,Christina "castpixel" Neofotistou | [26] |
| 22 | Battleship Godios | TPM.CO Soft Works | [26] |
| 23 | b360 | Panic | [28][26] |
| 24 | Ratcheteer | Shaun Inman, Matthew Grimm, Charlie Davis | [26] |
| No. in season | Title | Developed by | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fulcrum Defender | Subset Games | |
| 2 | Dig! Dig! Dino! | Dom2D & Fáyer | |
| 3 | Wheelsprung | Nino van Hooff & Julie Bjørnskov | |
| 4 | The Whiteout | Scenic Route Software | |
| 5 | Otto's Galactic Groove!! | Team Otto | |
| 6 | Long Puppy | indiana-jonas | |
| 7 | Shadowgate PD | Pixel Ghost | |
| 8 | CatchaDiablos | Amano | |
| 9 | Tiny Turnip | Luke Sanderson | |
| 10 | Chance's Lucky Escape | Goloso Games & Julia Minamata | |
| 11 | Black Hole Havoc | Cosmic Bros | |
| 12 | Taria & Como | Popseed Studio Inc & JuVee Productions | |
| Bonus | Blippo+ | YACHT, Telefantasy Studios, Dustin Mierau, Noble Robot |
Season Two is a US$39 bundle of 12 games which premiered from May 29 to July 3, 2025. As with Season One, Season Two's games are delivered to the console in batches of two per week.[31][32] In addition to these games and unannounced prior to Season Two's premiere, all subscribers gain access to a black-and-white version ofBlippo+, an episodic, 11-week-long video series documenting the world and people of Blip, a faraway planet with technology similar to the Playdate, as they discover Earth through a "bend" in space.
On May 22, 2019, Panic announced Playdate.[33] Initial impressions were centered around how unusual the device was, from the crank, its 1-bit screen, and its odd method of delivering games to players. About the crank,TechCrunch noted, "It's not necessary for every game, though, so don't worry if it seems too weird."[34]
A year before the Playdate announcement, Panic co-founderCabel Sasser sent an email to an indie video game event, also named Playdate, suggesting that the organizers consider tweaking or changing its name to avoid future confusion.[35] The following day, Sasser retracted the request, stating "My intention was always to find a way for our Playdates to co-exist [...] but we remain fine with you using the name Playdate."[36] On January 29, 2020, the team behind the event (now named "Playdate Pop Up") announced that Panic was joining the event as a sponsor and would assist the event in petitioning for nonprofit status; however, the LA Zinefest event was cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[37][38]
Playdate was initially set for release in early 2020, but preorders were delayed until July 29, 2021.[39] Panic sold through its initial order of 20,000 units set to ship in 2021 within the first 20 minutes of its preorder.[40] Playdates started shipping to customers on April 18, 2022.[41]
Playdate was generally well-received upon its release, with criticism notably around the lack of a backlit screen and long shipping times.[42]The Verge praised its initial library of games, stating "even in this crowded landscape, Playdate offers something entirely unique."[43]IGN's review stated, "the screen's lack of a backlight can be a frustrating limitation. But you know what? The Playdate charmed me and I am now fully under its spell."[44] Input Mag wrote, "It really seems like every opportunity Panic found to do something special, it took it."[45]
On April 18, 2023, Panic confirmed toThe Verge that the Playdate has sold more than 53,000 units to-date, with 27,000 of those units shipped. Panic expected fulfillment of their existing 26,000 preorders by the end of 2023.[46]
On May 1, 2023, Panic announced via Twitter[47] that 53,368 Playdates had been pre-ordered so far, with 20,000 games downloaded from their on-device store Catalog.
On February 13, 2024, Panic tweeted[48] that over 70,000 Playdates had been sold.
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