The source matters.

A date should mean something.

DropForecast separates a product’s discovery from its release schedule. A first appearance in a manufacturer’s catalog tells us that a listing exists. It does not tell us that the product was announced that day, that ordering is open, or that it will ship immediately. We keep those distinctions visible because mixing them together creates a calendar that looks precise while answering the wrong question.

The release feed uses explicit event types. A release is the reported general launch or the official launch event. A preorder deadline is the last stated opportunity to place an order. An announcement means an upcoming product is listed without a validated launch date. First spotted means our discovery feed encountered a manufacturer listing; that observation can be useful even when the actual announcement is older.

Official and reported are different.

Official evidence comes from the publisher, manufacturer, or brand associated with the product. Reported evidence comes from a specialist publication or a release calendar. Both can be useful, and both can change. We identify the source rather than applying a blanket “confirmed” badge. A report from one outlet is not independent confirmation from several outlets merely because other sites repeat it.

Our initial sources include Nike SNKRS, Checklist Insider, LEGO, Limited Run Games, manufacturer discovery feeds, and specialist news publications. Nike records retain the supplied style code so similarly named products and clothing variants do not silently merge. The LEGO adapter reads the US coming-soon listing and leaves dates unannounced when the listing does not provide them. Limited Run deadlines are read from explicit preorder-closing statements, with Eastern time preserved through daylight saving changes.

Precision, geography, and freshness.

Exact times appear only when the source gives a time and a usable timezone. A day without a time remains an all-day date. A month remains a month. Seasonal language such as “holiday” stays a release window rather than being translated into a convenient day. If a region is not established by the evidence, we say so. Readers outside a source’s stated market should check the linked official page before making plans.

The coverage table below reports the input snapshot’s last successful refresh, not a claim that every page was individually revisited at that moment. Release details carry their own available observation time. Records older than our 36-hour freshness window display “needs recheck.” A failed official-source request retains the last successful snapshot and exposes the failure. Rebuilding the site does not reset that source timestamp.

Changes should leave a trail.

Release identifiers are independent of their dates. When a fact changes, the pipeline appends a revision instead of manufacturing an unrelated new event. Replaying identical facts does not create another revision. This is the foundation for meaningful change alerts, but automated email and push alerts are not part of this release. The current reader tools are browser-local saves, individual calendar downloads, and a calendar subscription feed.

We welcome corrections with a direct source and a precise description of the problem. We do not treat an unavailable source as permission to invent an answer. Future coverage expands when a source provides useful, reliable information; a large count of empty or duplicate pages is not the objective. Send a correction or propose a source.

More niches, the same standard

Our official-source intake now follows Penguin Random House for physical-book on-sale dates, Renegade Game Studios for estimated US tabletop releases, Music On Vinyl for dated record editions, Mondo for announced collectible drops, and Good Smile Company for dispatch notices and date changes. Each adapter preserves the timing the publisher actually gives. A quarter stays a quarter, and a monthly delay never becomes the first day of that month.

Shipping updates have their own calendar filter. Good Smile notices describe dispatch from Japan; local retailers and international customers may receive products later. An adapter for iam8bit shipping estimates is also installed, but its collection is currently rate-limited; it contributes no records until a successful check. Shipping estimates do not establish that a preorder is still open. Renegade dates are estimated US dates. Mondo products labeled coming soon remain undated until a product-specific announcement supplies more. Physical-book formats carry ISBNs so different editions can be distinguished.

Collection runs on our always-on server. If a storefront blocks a detailed catalog check, a successful homepage fetch does not make its old dates fresh again. Partial checks are labeled below, and retained deadlines keep their original observation time. Failed sources keep their last usable evidence until it can be checked again.

Coverage at the last build