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The Latest Breaking News from LocalThunk

Balatro's publisher beat gold stakes and the Jokerless challenge so quickly it even surprised LocalThunk: 'How did you do this so fast?'

"I sent him the video of the score, going, like, screw you. Yeah, I got it!" said Playstack's Wout van Halderen.

PC Gamer

"I looked it up and said ah, f***": As Balatro took over the world, another publisher was sweating over its own card roguelike – which LocalThunk then promoted himself

Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers came out just a few months after Balatro

GamesRadar

"Get a journal, a pen, and buy the game already": Balatro creator says new puzzle roguelike Blue Prince is "already one of the best games I've ever played"

LocalThunk thinks Blue Prince is a lock for a GOTY nomination

GamesRadar

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"Catch my goofy a** card game in the new season": LocalThunk celebrates as Balatro appears in Black Mirror season 7, months after its creator proclaimed his love for the roguelike

Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker is a huge Balatro fan

Total Film

Balatro scoops a BAFTA and Jimbo weirds it up on-stage: 'LocalThunk is really rich now… he has shoes made of gold and he thanks you for making him that way'

Also: play Animal Well.

PC Gamer

Balatro solo dev Localthunk "is really rich now," says Final Fantasy 16 star while dressed as a clown: "He has shoes made of gold and he thanks you for making him that way"

What a strange BAFTA award acceptance speech

GamesRadar

"LocalThunk is really rich now": 2 weeks after winning yet another GOTY award, Balatro sends Final Fantasy 16 star to accept award in "suspiciously arousing" Jimbo attire

"This is weird isn't it?"

GamesRadar

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Balatro's creator has reached poker zen after beating every deck on every difficulty: 'All this time playing has killed any negative emotions I had toward it'

I have no enemies.

PC Gamer

First PEGI, now YouTube - Balatro's LocalThunk seems tired of his roguelike game being age restricted for gambling-related concerns

"Good thing we are protecting children from knowing what a 4 of a kind is"

GamesRadar

Balatro creator can finally enjoy his own roguelike after beating every deck on every difficulty: "All this time playing has killed any negative emotions I had toward it"

15 decks, 8 difficulties, 120 runs

GamesRadar

Balatro creator LocalThunk stays so anonymous, a GDC attendee couldn't believe how he "crushed" the roguelike's base difficulty: "'Wow you must have played this before!'"

"I guess you could say that"

GamesRadar

Baldur's Gate 3 director Swen Vincke says indie poker roguelike Balatro was his 2024 GOTY, beating out Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Astro Bot, and Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

Balatro racks up yet another accolade

GamesRadar

Even Balatro's publisher doesn't know when LocalThunk will be done with 1.1: "Maybe I should whisper in his ear, like, 'So how's those 200 new jokers coming?'"

"I may hear it a couple days before everyone else"

GamesRadar

'He's just gonna show up one day and say, here's 100 new jokers:' Balatro's publisher doesn't know how big the 1.1 update will be or when it's coming

"I don't think he'll let us know when [Balatro 1.1] is gonna drop," said Wout van Halderen, the communications director at Playstack.

PC Gamer

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PC Gamer

Balatro's LocalThunk isn't 'trying to pull a Banksy', he just 'wanted to be left alone to make his game'

According to his publisher, LocalThunk’s anonymity is less about artsy obfuscation and more about minding his own business.

GamesRadar

Balatro's first big update is still on track for 2025, but it'll be "done when it's done, because it's got to be good before it's fast"

The poker roguelike's first major gameplay update is still on track

PC Gamer

LocalThunk gave up making Balatro for 3 months but resumed because 'I was bored but the internet was out so I couldn't play Rocket League'

What a Save!

PC Gamer

LocalThunk forbids AI-generated art on the Balatro subreddit: 'I think it does real harm to artists of all kinds'

A recent kerfuffle over AI art forced the Balatro creator to get involved.

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news in one place.

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GamesRadar

After stepping away from Balatro for 3 months, the developer only resumed work "because I was bored but the internet was out so I couldn't play Rocket League"

Breaks are important

GamesRadar

Balatro creator started "properly playing the game myself about a week before launch" and had "a pretty emotional moment" where he realized it's "actually fun"

Well, of course

GamesRadar

Balatro creator initially considered a Steam release in part to help "get a game developer job somewhere," and after 5 million sales I'd say he found one

"All I knew about Steam is that there were about a million games on there and that very few could realistically make a living"

GamesRadar

Balatro creator intentionally avoided roguelikes but did eventually play and "steal from" Slay the Spire anyway: "Holy s***. Now that is a game"

"This is from Slay the Spire (see? Told you I’d steal from it)"

PC Gamer

The official Balatro Timeline documents the history of 2024's biggest game as its developer went from 'obsessed' with making it to 'shocked' at the reception

LocalThunk's detailed account of the creation of Balatro is remarkably entertaining.

Windows Central

"The numbers on that page made no sense." Balatro developer recalls his amazement at selling 50,000 copies of his game—which went on to sell 5 million

Balatro developer LocalThunk has documented his timeline of creating the indie hit that went on to sell 5 million. Not bad for a game he didn't think anyone would play.

The Guardian - UK

When video game age ratings go wrong: Balatro’s battle with Pegi

Card game Balatro was a huge hit last year – but a year-long struggle with the European age ratings board has exposed how well-meaning rules can have unintended consequences

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