Ayaneo is kicking off the year with a move that retro handheld fans will appreciate: the Ayaneo Pocket Vert is now expected to ship earlier than planned. The company has confirmed that its Indiegogo campaign for the premium vertical retro gaming handheld has ended ahead of schedule, allowing backers to receive their units sooner.
According to an update shared on the Pocket Vert campaign page, Ayaneo CEO Arthur Zhang said production has been progressing smoothly and that the company already has a sizable amount of inventory ready. With stock on hand and manufacturing moving steadily, Ayaneo says it can meet its early pre-order commitments faster than originally expected.
The Pocket Vert went up for pre-order in late December 2025, and the campaign was initially scheduled to run until February 4, 2026. Instead of waiting for that end date, Ayaneo chose to close the campaign early—officially ending it on January 19. The reason comes down to timing and logistics: under typical crowdfunding processing rules, payment collection and address confirmation can add weeks before shipments can actually leave the warehouse.
Ayaneo explained that standard processing would have pushed shipping into late February, since payment collection usually happens within about 15 days after a campaign ends, followed by another window of time for backers to confirm shipping details and pay shipping fees. To reduce that wait, Ayaneo says it received approval to accelerate the schedule. The payment collection period has been reduced to 2 days, and the time window for submitting shipping addresses and paying shipping costs has been shortened to around 5 days.
With those changes in place, Ayaneo now expects Pocket Vert shipping to begin by the end of January—nearly a month earlier than the original timeline. The company also notes that shipments will still roll out in batches and will be organized by SKU.
As for which models will go out first, Ayaneo says the 12GB RAM + 256GB storage version will be prioritized for the earliest shipments, followed by the 8GB RAM + 128GB model. That said, the company also hinted at some flexibility depending on production batches. If the remaining orders for the 12GB/256GB variant become small, some 8GB/128GB units could begin shipping earlier than expected as well.
Once Ayaneo completes Indiegogo fulfillment for a specific SKU, any remaining stock (if available) may be redirected to customers who pre-ordered through other channels, such as Ayaneo’s own store. With the crowdfunding phase now over, sales are expected to shift to the company’s website—but at the time of writing, the Pocket Vert still isn’t listed there for purchase.
For gamers who love vertical handhelds and premium retro hardware, this updated schedule is a strong signal that Ayaneo is aiming for faster fulfillment and smoother service in 2026—and Pocket Vert could end up being one of the company’s quickest crowdfunding shipments yet.
