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The Latest Breaking News from LocalThunk

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

From analysis to the latest developments in health,
read the most diverse news in one place.

'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

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.

PC Gamer

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

GamesRadar

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

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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.

PC Gamer

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)"

GamesRadar

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.

PC Gamer

"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.

Windows Central

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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

Evening Standard

The full list of nominations for the Bafta Games Awards

The 21st edition of the awards take place in April.

GamesRadar

Balatro dev says solitaire exists "at the peak of game culture" and was debatably "the most important" inspiration for his poker roguelike

LocalThunk wanted to create "something new and yet familiar" with Balatro

PC Gamer

Balatro's new cards really show that every dev in the games industry is hooked on Balatro

I mean, it's pretty great!

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TechRadar

Balatro has had its PEGI 18 age rating overturned following appeal: 'I hope this change will allow developers to create without being unfairly punished'

Balatro has officially had its PEGI 18 rating overturned by PEGI following an appeal.

PC Gamer

Balatro finally escapes its silly 18+ age rating, PEGI promises 'a more granular set of classification criteria' for gambling-themed games in the future

Balatro also got a new Friends of Jimbo crossover pack today, featuring Civilization 7, Fallout, and more.

GamesRadar

Balatro creator wins 18+ ratings battle with PEGI, accidentally producing limited edition copies: "I hope this change will allow developers to create without being unfairly punished"

Balatro is now officially classified as 12+

GamesRadar

Assassin's Creed Shadows and Fallout among the latest games to succumb to Balatro as the hit poker roguelike adds Xbox Game Pass to its global dominance

Balatro's Assassin's Creed crossover will include characters from Shadows

Windows Central

Balatro shuffles onto Xbox Game Pass with a surprise launch, bringing 2024's best indie game to the service

Balatro stands as one of the best games of 2024, and now you can play it through Xbox Game Pass.

GamesRadar

"I still have a job to do": Balatro creator says selling 5 million copies hasn't really changed his lifestyle, and he's focused on updates instead of new games

LocalThunk is hard at work on Balatro update 1.1

GamesRadar

Buy more indie games, says Balatro developer, as the roguelike card game sails past 5 million copies sold: "There's some amazing stuff out there!"

"The last few weeks have been pretty wild."

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