Playdate group one orders are shipping imminently

“Gradually shipping starting April 18”

Folks have noticed some recent activity when it comes to Playdate emails, and we have good news: Playdate group one is shipping “imminently.”

The news comes directly from the folks at Playdate, who confirmed the rollout to Destructoid:

“Panic is thrilled to announce that Playdate, their unique video game handheld system (with a crank), will begin shipping to pre-order holders in Group One, today!”

This will be a “gradual” rollout, and similar to a Kickstarter fulfillment, all of group one should be getting their orders soon. With that in mind, Playdate is kicking off several initiatives for launch.

You can buy your first sideloaded game now for $9.99. It’s called Bloom, and it’s billed as a “real-time narrative-driven social sim about starting up a flower shop.” We’re also getting a companion podcast, which will run through the games of season one, and speak to key developers who made the games. The first episode is called “The Story of Playdate,” with a two-week cadence to follow.

As a reminder, pre-orders for the Playdate were highly sought after, and intrepid owners quickly found out that they were relegated to “groups” depending on how fast they were. Numerous Destructoid readers have shared that they’re in several different groups: and for the fast-fingered few, you’re in luck today.

Current Playdate pre-orders (read: if you were to do it today) are scheduled to ship in 2023.