Cairn (video game)

Cairn is a 2026 simulation adventure video game developed and published by The Game Bakers. In the game, the player assumes control of Aava, a professional mountaineer who seeks to summit the mysterious Mount Kami. While her journey is mostly solitary, she also encounters other climbers and inhabitants on the mountain and uncovers remnants of past expeditions along with a long-lost civilization. As a simulation game, players manually control each of Aava's limbs. The game also features elements commonly found in survival games, with players being tasked with managing Aava's hunger, thirst, and temperature. It also features a weather system and a day-night cycle, all of which affect the difficulty.

Development of the game started in 2020. Emeric Thoa served as its creative director, while comic book artist Mathieu Bablet was its art director and lead writer, and Martin Stig Andersen was its audio designer and co-composer. The Game Bakers described the game as a conclusion to its "trilogy on freedom", following Furi and Haven. The team was inspired by climbing documentaries and The Summit of the Gods while creating the game. They also consulted alpinists and visited Aiguille du Midi to understand more about mountaineering. While The Game Bakers described it as a "survival climber" and compared Mount Kami to a long boss fight, the game was not designed to be punishing, with the team introducing various accessibility options. The game was powered by Unity and had a budget of €5 million.

Announced in June 2024, the game was released in January 2026 for PlayStation 5 and Windows. The game received generally positive reviews, with critics praising its simulation gameplay, story, and art direction, though Aava's characterization and the game's technical issues were criticized. The game sold over 200,000 copies in three days.