Playdate handheld console pre-orders start in July

It's almost time!

The Playdate handheld console will go up for pre-order in July, Panic has today announced.

The announcement was made as part of a Playdate Update which also announced a new Playdate Stereo Dock.

The dock operates as a Bluetooth speaker and a charging stand, also including a pen holder for whatever reason. If you don’t have a pen of your own to be held by the dock, never fear: a Playdate-yellow one comes with the peripheral.

Also announced was a Playdate Cover, a purple protective case for the unit. The Playdate itself will retail for $179 USD, while a bundle with the console and cover will go for $199 USD. Individual covers cost $29 USD, so it’s best to go for the bundle if you want one.

Finally, Panic has confirmed 21 of Playdate’s 24 launch games, as follows:

• Crankin’s Time Travel Adventure: Developed by uvula (Keita Takahashi, Ryan Mohler), Matthew Grimm and Shaun Inman
• Battleship Godios: Developed by TPM.CO Soft Works
• Boogie Loops: Developed by May-Li Khoe and Andy Matuschak
• Casual Birder: Developed by Diego Garcia; Music and Sound by Max Coburn
• DemonQuest 85: Developed by Alex Ashby, Lawrence Bishop, Duncan Fyfe, Belinda Leung and Jared Emerson-Johnson
• Echoic Memory: Developed by Samantha Kalman, Everest Pipkin, Carol Mertz and Rachelle Viola
• Executive Golf DX: Developed by davemakes
• Flipper Lifter: Developed by Serenity Forge
• Forrest Byrnes: Up in Smoke: Developed by Nels Anderson, Christina “castpixel” Neofotistou
• Hyper Meteor: Developed by Vertex Pop (Mobeen Fikree, Robby Duguay and h heron)
• Lost Your Marbles: Developed by Sweet Baby Inc & Friends
• Omaze: Developed by Gregory Kogos
• Pick Pack Pup: Developed by Nic Magnier, Arthur Hamer. Music by Logan Gabriel
• Questy Chess: Developed by Dadako
• Ratcheteer: Developed by Shaun Inman, Matthew Grimm and Charlie Davis
• Sasquatchers: Developed by Chuck Jordan. Music and Sound by Jared Emerson-Johnson
• Snak: Developed by Zach Gage. Art by Neven Mrgan
• Spellcorked!: Developed by Jada Gibbs, Nick Splendorr, Ryan Splendorr and Tony Ghostbrite. Music by A Shell in the Pit (Em Halberstadt)
• Zipper: Developed by Bennett Foddy
• Saturday Edition: Developed by Chris Makris. Music by A Shell in the Pit (Gord McGladdery, Alfonson Salinas)
• Whitewater Wipeout: Developed by Chuhai Labs (Giles Goddard, Mark Lentz, Peter Traylor, Hero Liao, Remy Thor, Charlie March, Kensaku Nakata, Zach Aikman, Mihoko Terao)

We’ll let you know when you can pre-order proper. For more about Playdate, head here.