Balatro, the hit poker-inspired roguelike deckbuilder, has hit 1 million sales within its first month of release. Publisher Playstack also revealed a mobile version is in development.
Created by solo developer LocalThunk, Balatro is a roguelike tasking players to play poker hands to fulfill score criteria and advance a series of rounds. Along the way, they’ll spend money to augment their deck with new cards with special effects while collecting powerful Jokers that bestow a wide range of passive and trigger abilities.
The game has earned widespread acclaim and popularity since launching on February 20. I awarded it a 9.5 out of 10, writing in my review, “Balatro is an ingenious and entertaining roguelike and one of my favorite games of the year. Playing it has become a near-obsession; everything feels perfectly designed to encourage you to keep trying because that next run could be the run of your life. Even after hours of play, I still can’t overcome Balatro’s biggest challenge: putting it down.”
In a press release announcing the 1 million milestone, LocalThunk writes,
“I’m so grateful to all the players and people that have made this happen. I still can’t grasp the response to this game, and I am overjoyed that so many people have been able to have fun with my silly creation. I’m so fortunate that I can continue working on my passion as a career. Thank you!”
Balatro is currently available for PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and PC. There’s no release window for the impending mobile versions.
