After a "pretty wild last few weeks," LocalThunk revealed Balatro has sold 5 million copies.
The roguelike deckbuilder's become increasingly popular since its launch last February on PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch. By mid-December, it'd sold 3.5 million units after coming to mobile that fall, and racked up end-of-year nominations and wins at various outlets and organizations.
LocalThunk specifically credited interest from the game's nomination in various categories at the 2024 Game Awards, and hoped players have "an amazing time with it!" The game won Best Indie, Best Mobile, and Best Debut Indie at the event.
In the months since its launch, LocalThunk has also pulled back the curtain on how the game was made, and what it originally looked like in an earlier state.
Balatro's success hasn't been without its setbacks. Weeks after its launch, it was delisted from various countries after it'd been mis-rated by the European ratings board, PEGI. At the time, the board believed the game endorsed gambling, something LocalThunk and publisher PlayStack said they'd repeatedly told the board was untrue. The creator has also explicitly ensured the game cannot be licensed into a gambling title, now or after his death.
As of last month, PEGI rated the game 18+ (or "adults only"), a move LocalThunk could only describe as "comedy. Since PEGI gave us an 18+ rating for having evil playing cards maybe I should add microtransactions/loot boxes/real gambling to lower that rating to 3+ like EA Sports FC."
Despite this, LocalThunk is appreciative of those who've put time into Balatro, and suggested those players "try to make [playing indie games] a habit! There's some amazing stuff out there!"
You May Also Like
