Here’s how to sideload Playdate games from Itch.io and elsewhere
destructoid.comPlaydate devices are starting to ship out, and although all owners are getting a 24-game “season 1,” there’s more out there. Here’s how to sideload Playdate games and a few links to get you started.
That’s it! The .pdx file is actually just a folder containing the game itself, but you can upload the .zip directly to your Playdate account and access it from the cloud.
The sideloaded titles will be under “my games” at the bottom of your game menu.
Playdate also has a third “data disk mode” option that I wouldn’t recommend: you can find those instructions, and info on other sideloading methods, here.
Since the process is so simple, finding games is arguably harder to do than actually loading them. Right now, your best bet is the Playdate Reddit, as well as Itch.io. But the Playdate developers will be spotlighting games as well as time goes on.
There are several games you can buy for Playdate now piecemeal that are not part of the “seasonal” run, which we’ll add to the list here:
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