News Articles
Thursday27th Mar 2025
Random You've Been Pronouncing Balatro Wrong (Probably)
"You dealt with that pretty well!"
In the same way that you've probably not been saying "gib" or "Scadutree" in the way their original creators properly intended, it's more than likely you've not been using the correct intonation when pronouncing "Balatro", the name given to the wildly successful poker-like from indie game dev, Localthunk.
Tuesday25th Feb 2025
News Assassin's Creed, Dead by Daylight, More Feature in Latest Free Update to Balatro on PS5, PS4
Friends of Jimbo 4 out now
Balatro, the breakout hit roguelike card game is having a good week; not only has its inflated European age classification finally been brought down, it's also just received its latest free Friends of Jimbo update. Available now, this is the fourth batch of cosmetics that have been brought to the game, adding several new...
News Balatro Wins Appeal Against PEGI After Being Accused of Including Gambling
Localthunk notches up another victory
Oh, Balatro, you beautiful beast. Wrongly maligned as a gambling game and temporarily pulled from the PS Store after its PEGI rating was inexplicably raised to 18, creator Localthunk, who really isn't a fan of gambling in the first place, has officially won an appeal. The fiendishly addictive poker-like has had...
Monday10th Feb 2025
News Balatro's Breakout Success Hasn't Changed Creator's Lifestyle Much
Stay humble
Balatro, the dangerously addictive poker-like from anonymous indie dev LocalThunk, has sold over five million copies, raking in millions of dalloars in revenue, over $4.5 million earned on mobile alone. In addition to multiple GotY nominations, Balatro enjoys one of the most fanatical, devoted fanbases we've yet observed; despite it all,...
Tuesday21st Jan 2025
News Brilliant Balatro Breaks 5 Million Sales, Dev Asks Everyone to Give Indies a Chance
No joker
Many would argue that Balatro was one of 2024's finest games. The insanely addictive card-based indie ended up on numerous Game of the Year lists — including our own — and its excellence has been rewarded with 5 million sales. Balatro's a bona fide hit, then, and we're sure that its appearance at The Game Awards 2024 — where it...
Monday6th Jan 2025
News Balatro Dev's Prestigious Golden Thunk Award Goes to Animal Well
"Dripping with style, secrets, and making me feel like an imposter in this industry"
Watch your back, Geoff; the mysterious developer of 2024's breakout pokerlike, Balatro, is getting in on the award show game. Opting for a more cost-effective Tweet thread instead of Keighley's whole song and dance, Localthunk used their newfound fame to highlight a...
Thursday19th Dec 2024
News PEGI Won't Budge on Balatro's Ridiculously Bloated European Age Rating
"This sucks"
Balatro has been a huge success for solo developer LocalThunk, but it's not been completely clear of issues. Shortly after its release, European ratings board PEGI suddenly changed it to an 18, and it's been a sore spot for the developer ever since. LocalThunk recently called out the ridiculous rating — which over-eggs the point that...
Tuesday17th Dec 2024
News Dominant Balatro Dev Pokes Fun at Absurd PEGI Ratings Debacle
"I should add microtransactions/loot boxes/real gambling to lower that rating"
Localthunk, the mysterious developer behind poker-like sensation Balatro, has poked fun at the PEGI age rating debacle which marred its launch. The game was pulled from the PS Store after its age requirement was inexplicably raised from 3+ to 18+ for the use of "prominent...
Friday13th Dec 2024
News Balatro's Friends of Jimbo Stars Ominous Ben Starr as Jimbo
"You can't spell 'collaboration' without 'Balatro'"
There is something decidedly unsettling about the card game Balatro, judging by its marketing and that strange doll that occasionally takes over the game's social media accounts (we don't play, preferring the more refined Queen's Blood). An eerie new trailer with
Thursday12th Dec 2024
News Indie Phenomenon Balatro Passes Another Impressive Sales Milestone
Ace in the hole
Roguelike poker revolution Balatro has passed another major sales milestone, with 3.5 million copies sold. The surprise hit has come an extremely long way since initially being removed from the PS Store following a PEGI rating dispute. Indie underdog stories are some of our favourites, and solo developer and artist LocalThunk...
Thursday28th Nov 2024
News GOTY Dark Horse Balatro's Popularity Explodes Following TGA Nomination
Award shows are worthless, are they?
The seductive cult of Balatro continues to spread, with LocalThunk's poker-themed roguelike claiming untold more converts. The game's surprise Game of the Year nomination at Geoff Keighley's The Game Awards caused an explosive uptick in players across multiple platforms. That's in spite of conventional wisdom,...
Friday25th Oct 2024
News Balatro Deals More Free Crossover Cards Featuring Cyberpunk, Stardew Valley, More
Friends of Jimbo 2
Balatro, the hit roguelike card game, has just received another free update. Developer LocalThunk and publisher Playstack have announced and released the Friends of Jimbo 2 update, bringing a second round of cosmetic crossovers with other titles. Available now as a free game update on all platforms, you can now customise your...
Tuesday27th Aug 2024
News Balatro Collaborates with The Witcher 3, Vampire Survivors, More in Free Update
Available today on PS5, PS4
Card game sensation Balatro has just unveiled a free update that sees it cross paths with various popular titles. Named the Friends of Jimbo update, this freebie DLC will be available today as part of a game update on PS5 and PS4. As you can see in the above trailer, several games are being converted into cards in the...
Wednesday7th Aug 2024
News Smash Hit Roguelike Balatro Has Sold Over 2 Million Copies, Free Major Update Incoming
Cashing in
Balatro, the devilishly addictive roguelike deckbuilder, has now passed the two million sales milestone across all platforms. The game, almost entirely made by someone known only as LocalThunk, has been a big success critically, and we can safely say it's been a commercial hit too. The game sees players drawing cards and playing poker...
News Balatro Creator Ensures IP Won't Ever Be Used for Gambling
Leave nothing to chance
The developer behind smash-hit indie deck-builder Balatro is really not a fan of gambling, potentially as a result of the bizarre episode in which their game was pulled from console stores at launch due to a ratings board blunder. In any case, solo creator LocalThunk, who probably has a lot of money to worry about, recently...
Monday10th Jun 2024
News Play Texas Hold 'Em with Balatro's Physical Edition on PS5, PS4
Poker pun
Indie hit Balatro is currently holding all the cards and, in a masterful flourish, is releasing the game physically on PS5 and PS4. There is no word on a release date yet, but punters can expect each Special Edition to come with a pack of Joker/booster cards to play with, even when away from the game. Filthy rich solo dev and creator of...
Tuesday19th Mar 2024
News Indie Hit Balatro Ups the Ante with Over a Million Copies Sold
On fire
It's been on sale for just under a month, but Balatro has already reached a huge sales milestone. After reaching the 500,000 mark after only 10 days, the indie roguelike has now doubled that figure, now having sold over a million copies. The announcement came via the game's official social channels: Developed mostly by a single person,...
Wednesday6th Mar 2024
News Smash Hit Indie Roguelike Balatro Has Sold Half a Million Copies in 10 Days
Playstack's fastest selling game
The wonderful Balatro's rise to stardom has been fascinating to see. Relatively obscure until close to launch, the indie, poker-based roguelike quickly ballooned in popularity, becoming publisher Playstack's fastest-selling title in just a few days. Now, 10 days after release on PC and consoles, the game has reached...
Friday1st Mar 2024
News Indie Hit Balatro Removed from Console Stores in PEGI Age Rating Dispute
On a different planet card
You may have heard about Balatro recently — it's the latest indie sensation currently doing the rounds, and it's truly excellent. The roguelike deckbuilder has you playing poker hands to score points, and using joker cards and other upgrades to amplify those points to potentially stratospheric levels — it's tremendous...
Tuesday20th Feb 2024
News Highly Acclaimed Poker Roguelike Balatro Out Now on PS5, PS4, Free Trial on PS Plus Premium
Not joking around
There's a lot of buzz surrounding Balatro right now, the poker-based roguelike deckbuilder. While this is a genre many balk at, the indie title has thus far proven to be a winner, with early reviews putting it in the 90s on Metacritic. It's now available on PS5 and PS4. Each run begins with a regular deck of standard playing...
Thursday25th Jan 2024
News Roguelike Poker Game Balatro Raises the Stakes with PS5, PS4 Release in February
Hand it over
Now this seems like a match made in heaven, right? Balatro is an indie game that combines poker with roguelike elements and all the synergistic shenanigans of deck builders. It's just been confirmed for release on PS5 and PS4 as well as other platforms, and it's just around the corner, launching on 20th February 2024. Developed by...
