Playdate Gets Preorder Date, Games, And A Weird New Accessory

If you thought the crank on this video game machine was weird, wait until you see the Stereo Dock. The Playdate is a handheld video game machine that has a black and white display, directional pad, A and B buttons, and a crank. As of today, the device has a pre-order date and a new "Playdate Stereo Dock" with Bluetooth audio and a pen holder, that holds a pen!

Playdate is a very strange device – and a welcome sort of release here in 2021, where most devices are more-or-less the same as their predecessors and contemporaries. Playdate plays video games on a "very special black and white screen" that's "super reflective." It's about the size of your palm, and it comes with a "season" of game releases.

It's entirely possible that the machine will be in a position to offer a subscription service or a game store after this first "season", but for starters, the creators of Playdate will have a 12-week "season" in which the device will be given access to 2 new games every week, ending with a total of 24 games.

Many of the first waves of games were revealed in early June, 2021, including Casual Birder, Flipper Lifter, Lost Your Marbles, Hyper Meteor, Forrest Byrnes Up In Smoke, Echoic Memory, Demon Quest 85', and Questy Chess. Also in the mix: Crankin's Time Travel Adventure, Omaze, Pick Pack Pup, Saturday Edition, Sasquatchers, The Racheteer, Whitewater Wipeout, Snak, Spellcorked, Battleship Godios, Boogie Loops, and Zipper by Bennett Foddy!

Playdate will be released on pre-order in July of 2021. At that time, the device will be priced at $179. The Playdate Stereo Dock will be sold separately and, as yet, has no release date. There's also a Playdate Cover (protective cover) that'll be available for pre-order in July for $29 USD.

Playdate was created by the company Panic (publisher of Untitled Goose Game), and the hardware was designed by Teenage Engineering. Teenage Engineering recently teamed up with Nothing, too!