Dead batteries push the Playdate’s launch date to 2022

By DeAngelo Epps Published November 11, 2021

The Playdate, the unique new handheld console from Panic, just had its initial release date delayed. Via both a Twitter post and an email to pre-order adopters, the company announced that consoles set to ship out in late 2021 will now get into the hands of owners in early 2022.

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 Playdate is a new handheld console that is shaping up to be something totally new. It sports a season-based game release schedule and a unique control peripheral in its crank. Its pre-orders were set to release in quarterly waves, with its first shipment now set for 2022.

Playdate cited battery issues as a reason for the delay. This issue reared its head during early shipment testing, when the team noticed that early models weren’t reaching their expected battery life.

An email from Playdate states that it “found a number of units with batteries so drained, Playdate wouldn’t power on at all — and couldn’t be charged.”

Due to that issue, Panic decided to replace all the existing Playdate batteries with new ones from a new supplier. This means that 5,000 of the consoles were shipped back to Malaysia to be given new batteries. While the delay may sting, at least the team caught the issue before actually shipping out the consoles, which would have resulted in an even greater frustration.

Those who pre-ordered a Playdate and were part of that late 2021 group will now receive their consoles in early 2022. The other groups set to receive their consoles in later quarters of 2022 will still get their consoles on previously established dates.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

De'Angelo Epps is a gaming writer passionate about the culture, communities, and industry surrounding gaming. His work ranges…

Topics

Gaming

Sony’s new PS5 Prism Collection gives a beautiful retro makeover to your console and controller

The new collection lets you peek inside your PS5 and DualSense controller with a glossy transparent design.

sony-prism-collection-ps5

Remember when transparent gadgets were the coolest things you could own? Sony is bringing that late '90s aesthetic back with its new PS5 Prism Collection. The gorgeous lineup gives your DualSense controller and PS5 console a glossy, see-through makeover in three eye-catching colors.

https://twitter.com/PlayStation/status/2115459064981512662?s=19

Gaming

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4’s Stranded mission had me hooked for hours, yet left me wanting more

I spent hours sneaking through North Korea, scavenging supplies, and clearing outposts, and I’d happily do it all again.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Stranded mission gameplay

For years, Call of Duty’s campaign mode has used big, scripted set pieces to tell the overarching story amid all the adrenaline-pumping action. The 2023 Modern Warfare 3 tried to shake up the established formula by introducing a handful of short open combat missions, and I genuinely liked the idea, but the game's overall negative reception seeped into how those missions were received.

I feared the next iteration might abandon the idea because of the backlash, but I am glad it didn't. MW4’s “Stranded” mission uses the same approach, but instead of fragmenting it across the campaign, it puts it all in a single large-scale open-world mission.

Computing

The $1300 Acer Predator Atlas 8 handheld is finally US-bound, and its pre-orders are already sold out

Acer’s first gaming handheld to launch in the US arrives November 1 with Intel Arc G3 Extreme hardware.

Intel Arc G3 Extreme Hands On with Acer Predator Atlas 8

Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.

Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.