Playdate – the dinky yellow gaming handheld with a crank and some nifty games – is getting an on-device store known as Catalog and an upcoming $20 USD price increase.
Catalog, which Playdate maker Panic describes as a “boutique digital on-device and web-based storefront,” arrives today, marking something of a departure for the company, which has so far only distributed Playdate games through a seasonal release model.
However, with the arrival of Catalog, players can purchase individual titles on-demand, either directly from their Playdate or through the Catalog website. There will be 16 games and apps available at launch – 11 of which are brand new – and Panic says it will expand the curated selection over time. It also assures owners that it will continue to be possible to sideload and purchase Playdate games and apps through other stores, such as Itch.io and Gumroad.
Catalog’s launch games (shown in full below) range wildly in price, ranging from $1 to $15, but two – both developed by Sweet Baby Inc. – can be downloaded for free as bonuses for Playdate’s current season one. These are the heist game Reel Steal and Recommendation Dog, a “cute action puzzle game about being a little dog with a really big job.”
In addition to today’s retail news, Panic announced that it will raise the price of Playdate from $179 USD to $199 starting April 7. “That delta of $20,” the company explains, “is largely because our factory recently gave the inevitable news that in 2023 the price of building a single Playdate will go up.”
Playdate – which has sold 25,000 copies since its launch last April – can still only be purchased through a pre-order waiting list, but Panic says Playdate will remain available at its current price until April 7. And finally, here’s the full list of games ahead of today’s Catalog launch:
- A Joke Worth .99¢ – Kamibox ($1)
- Bloom – RNG Party ($10)
- Carve Jr. – Chuhai Labs ($8)
- Direct Drive – DAC Vector ($15)
- Along the Oubliette – Rebecca König ($5)
- Eyeland – Ron Lent ($2)
- Grand Tour Legends – Iorama ($6)
- Hidey Spot – Panic ($6)
- Playmaker – Dustin Mierau ($15)
- Recommendation dog!! – Sweet Baby Inc. (free)
- Roller Handles – Sweet Baby Inc. (free)
- Skew: A The Last Worker Spinoff – Oiffy ($6)
- Swap Machina – NaOH & Zion D. Hill ($5)
- Tapeworm Disco Puzzle – Lowtek Games ($9)
- The Botanist – Cadin Batrack ($9)
- Word Trip – Shaun Inman, Matthew Grimm and Charlie Davis ($6)