Atmospheric “survival-climber” Cairn finally has a solid release date as of tonight’s announcement at the PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted, and there isn’t long to wait: It’ll be out January 29, 2026.
Along with the news, we got a good, long look at gameplay in a new trailer, which moves through a death-defying cutscene of the main character, Aava, beginning her ascent of Mount Kami.
In it, we witness a short conversation with Aava’s perky robot companion as the two start to scale the intimidating cliff face, her knees wobbling to an upbeat soundtrack. And things start to get hairy toward the top. There’s a lot of panning shots of endless vistas to feast your eyes on here, too. From cliffside campsites to foggy peaks and hillsides, and even rune-decorated ruins built rather precariously into the side of cliffs.
Seriously, how did these ancient people get home from a night on the town without turning into human pancakes?
Cairn really wowed our Jake Tucker after he got his hands on the demo, so we’re looking forward to its release on January 29. It was previously expected to release in November, but the developers decided they needed more time.
“We’ve been running a lot of playtests, and you’ve let us know that we have something truly special with Cairn,” said the studio when the delay was announced. “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.”
It won’t be too long before you can sink your pitons into this much-anticipated climbing game. In the meantime, you can check out the demo right now, and wishlist the game on Steam to get updates leading up to its release.
If you’re not really one for heights, check out everything else that was announced during the PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted 2025 Powered by Xbox Game Pass.
