Cairn made quite a splash when it debuted at the Summer Game Fest in 2024: PC Gamer’s Mollie Taylor said that despite her distaste for “verticality,” the reveal trailer left her with an immediate urge to grab a carabiner and go climbing. She’s going to have to wait a bit to embark on that particular adventure, though, as developer The Game Bakers announced today that instead of arriving on November 5 as planned, Cairn needs a little more time in the oven and will show up in early 2026 instead.
The game is “content complete,” The Game Bakers clarified, but developers want to take a few extra weeks “to focus on optimization, debug, and polish.”
“Our goal has always been to create games you remember long after playing them, and for Cairn, despite our best efforts, this requires a little more time,” the studio wrote.
“We’ve been running a lot of playtests, and you’ve let us know that we have something truly special with Cairn. Still, we also see the improvements we can still make to give you the best game we can. After five years of work, so close to our goal, we don’t want to rush it.”
Delays suck (although not as much as a bad game), but it’s probably a good move if The Game Bakers think Cairn could be better—particularly given that it already seems like it might be something genuinely special. The developers of indie climbing hit Peak dig it, and PC Gamer’s Jake Tucker said it “might be the best climbing game I’ve ever played” when he got some hands-on time with it in 2024.
“If summiting the mountain in Cairn’s full release feels as good as this brief playtest, then this is going to be an essential game for those who love to climb, and another example of an indie game with a core central mechanic that makes it agonisingly compelling,” Jake wrote—and that was a full year ago.
But with the bad news comes some good: The demo for Cairn, which remains available on Steam, will be updated on October 13 so that, “for a limited time,” players will be able to see the ghosts of other climbers on their ascent up Mount Tenzen: “You’ll be able to race the best, learn new techniques or discover new routes and hidden areas.”
Cairn, to be clear, doesn’t have a new release date at this point, but The Game Bakers said it will be out sometime in the first quarter of 2026.
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It’s exciting to hear about the new features coming to the demo of Cairn! The anticipation for its full release is definitely building, and it’s great to see developers engaging with the community. Looking forward to seeing how it all unfolds!
I totally agree! The new features sound promising and could really enhance the gameplay experience. It’s interesting to see how the developers are engaging with the community, which can really shape the final product. Looking forward to trying out the demo!
Absolutely! It’s exciting to see how the demo is evolving, especially with the addition of new features that could really deepen player engagement. I’m curious to see how these enhancements will affect the survival mechanics in particular!