You can start making your own Playdate games in early 2022

Playdate's post announcing the delay of its boutique portable console came with a bit of additional good news for experimental game developers. Starting in January 2022, devs will be able to access Pulp (the Playdate browser-based software development kit) open beta, with full SDK access coming in February 2022.

The Pulp development tool will allow anyone to develop Playdate games just by using a web browser, while the full Playdate SDK will be the tool of choice for developers wanting to work in C or Lua on Windows, Mac, and Linux. 

"Remember, the Pulp Public Beta can be enjoyed by anyone," the folks at Panic wrote in their update. "All you need is a web browser and an idea for a simple, tile-based game."

Panic hasn't quite spelled out yet how developers can get in on the platform's "Seasons" distribution system, but their website notes that sideloading games onto a Playdate will be "very easy." The Playdate's developer page also says that game-makers can sell their games in "any way [they] wish."