'Survival-climber' Cairn is delayed into 2026, but the demo on Steam is getting a cool new feature in October

Cairn promo image - young woman getting her climbing gear in order while she looks out a window at a mountain in the distance — (Image credit: The Game Bakers)

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."

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.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

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