Cairn delayed to Q1 2026 — demo hits 600K, ghost recordings coming Oct 13
The Game Bakers have delayed their survival climbing game Cairn from the originally announced release date of November 5, 2025 to Q1 2026. The studio says the extra time will be used for optimization, debugging and polish. Creative Director Emeric Thoa commented: “After 5 years of work, it makes no sense to rush it — we want to be proud of the game we launch.”
The demo has already reached 600,000 players. The developers will update the demo on October 13 to add ghost recordings from speedrunners and staffers so players can follow those runs to check techniques or discover new routes and hidden areas.
Platforms: PC and PlayStation 5. The game has an official Steam page (with the demo): Cairn on Steam.
For context, Cairn is a challenging rock-climbing survival sim with a focus on precise movement and minimal UI feedback — players must read the avatar’s breathing and body language. It’s been compared to the more peaceful climbing sim Jusant, but with a tougher, free-solo mode for players seeking a high-difficulty experience.
Why the delay?
The studio says it wants to avoid launching a rushed or broken product and prefers to spend more time polishing the experience. Delays are frustrating for fans, but they can result in a much better launch experience.
Sources
What do you think — smart move to delay and polish, or would you rather have the original release date? Share your thoughts below.