More than six months since the conclusion of its first season of games, Panic’s Playdate has its own store – and, as ever, it’s not doing things quite like any of its PC or console counterparts. Until now, creators seeking to release their game on the hardware have been able to distribute them elsewhere, such as via Itch.io, Shopify and Gumroad, with users sideloading them onto their hardware. And many will still have to resort to that strategy, since Panic’s Catalog offers a “tightly curated” selection of games, individually hand-picked by staff.
“It’s a boutique, not a warehouse,” Panic says – think of it as the equivalent of Nintendo’s seal of quality, back when that wasn’t slapped on any old Wii
