Panic Playdate preorders have been pushed back to ‘early 2022’

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If you are one of the people that was excited to get your preordered Panic Playdate console ahead of the holidays this year, it looks like you’ll have to wait a little longer. The unique handheld console is the latest piece of gaming hardware to be delayed this year.

In a tweet from the Playdate’s official Twitter account, the company shared the bad news. Users that preordered one of the consoles from Panic’s first wave will have recently gotten an email with details of the unfortunate delay.

Hi! If you've pre-ordered a Playdate, check your email for a copy of the "Playdate Owner's Update #1".

There's bad news (a battery tragedy means Late 2021 units are now Early 2022, see email for your timing) but also good news (Pulp+SDK release dates!!)

Thanks for reading it. pic.twitter.com/03BUolZetY

— Playdate (@playdate) November 11, 2021

The company cites a “battery tragedy” as the reason for the delay.

In the customer email (thanks, Mike Futter), the company notes that during testing it was revealed that the unit’s battery wasn’t keeping a charge, sometimes draining completely, making it impossible to turn back on.

Everything from video game consoles to automobiles has been affected by the worldwide supply shortage.

This shipment of Playdates will be the initial launch of the new console. Panic has decided to only accept preorders for its new handheld console, and the company will be delivering them in waves, as their production catches up.

The first batch of around 20,000 consoles, which became available for preorder back in July, was set to ship out in late 2021, with subsequent shipments coming after in 2022.

Now, the initial shipment has been pushed back to “early 2022,” with subsequent shipments likely pushed back even further.

The Playdate is not the only console to recieve a delay during the 2021 holiday season. Valve’s Steam Deck was also set to launch in December, but it has been pushed back to February.

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