The console was subject to added fees under the Trump administration’s original (and illegal) tariff regime.
Panic, software publisher and creator of the Playdate, is refunding customers for any US tariff fees they paid to purchase its console, Game Developer reports. The Trump administration’s tariff regime was confirmed to be illegal following a Supreme Court decision in February 2026, and Panic, like other companies, applied for a refund. Unlike other companies, though, it’s not pocketing that money.
“When you ordered from us, we charged you for the tariff we were being charged by the US government for every Playdate we manufactured,” Panic said in an email informing customers about the refund. “We treated it like any other tax, and passed it along as a line item at checkout.”
According to a page in the company’s help center, Panic stopped applying its original 19 percent tariff fee to new orders after April 21. It took until August to issue refunds because the company had to apply, receive its refund from the US government and then build a system to process refunds for the group of Playdate customers who paid more.
“It’s just not our money to keep, and it felt really good to give it back,” Panic CEO Cabel Sasser said in an email to Game Developer. “That’s an easy way to know you made the right decision.”
It’s not, however, a decision many other companies have made. While President Donald Trump’s tariffs affected the majority of companies selling electronics in the US, and many — like Nintendo — clearly objected, most haven’t discussed offering a refund to customers. So far shipping companies like FedEx, UPS and DHL are among the few firms offering people a way to get their money back. That’s not to say the silence has gone unnoticed. Amazon, Sony and Nintendo are each facing class-action lawsuits that allege they are legally required to refund customers for tariff fees.
