Balatro is an innovative deck-building game where players strive for increasingly higher scores using both standard and unconventional cards. Below you'll find the most recent updates and exciting developments about the game!
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Balatro News
2025
June 22
- Balatro creator Localthunk has officially completed all achievements in his own game, attaining the elusive "Completionist++" status. Sharing on social media, he described this personal milestone as an enjoyable nightly ritual, often playing "a couple rounds before bedtime."
- The developer noted this comprehensive playthrough has better positioned him to design the highly anticipated 1.1 update, expressing enthusiasm to "experience it all again with fresh content" upon release.
June 9
- During WWDC 2025, Balatro received the Delightful & Fun Games award as announced on the game's official X account.
May 28
- A mere 0.1% of players have unlocked Balatro's prestigious Platinum trophy, with PlayStation architect Mark Cerny recently joining this elite group.
- Cerny, instrumental in designing multiple PlayStation consoles including the forthcoming PS5 Pro, reported spending "seven months and hundreds of hours" to achieve this feat while praising developer @LocalThunk for the game's "exceptionally deep mechanics."
April 15
- Playstack communications director Wout van Halderen surprised the community by completing both gold stakes at every difficulty and conquering the notoriously difficult Jokerless challenge - completing an entire run without using any joker cards.
April 6
- Developer LocalThunk has addressed YouTube's controversial decision to age-restrict Balatro gameplay videos, despite the game's recent PEGI reclassification to 12+.
- In a satirical social media post, the creator quipped: "Good thing we're shielding children from learning about four-of-a-kind while letting them watch CS:GO loot box openings instead."
March 26
- Playstack's head of video marketing Naman Budhwar has confirmed the official pronunciation as "BAH-la-tro", matching how developer LocalThunk says it.
March 20
- Despite Balatro's commercial success selling millions of copies, developer LocalThunk maintains his preference for privacy, explaining he simply wants to focus on game development rather than public attention.
March 13
- The developer has enforced a ban on AI-generated art within the official Balatro subreddit, stating such content "actively harms working artists" and won't be tolerated.
- This stance came after community backlash against a temporary policy allowing labeled AI content.
March 10
- In a reflective development blog, LocalThunk revealed he didn't fully appreciate how enjoyable Balatro was until just one week before launch, experiencing an emotional moment when finally playing the completed game himself.
March 7
- The developer shared that he deliberately avoided playing other roguelikes for over two years during development to ensure original game design without unconscious influences.
February 27
- LocalThunk identified classic solitaire games, particularly Klondike, as Balatro's primary inspiration - imagining it placed at the center of the game's conceptual vision board.
- He aimed to capture solitaire's nostalgic essence while incorporating contemporary design elements.
February 24
- Balatro successfully appealed its initial PEGI 18 rating, receiving reclassification to PEGI 12 after publisher contention that poker mechanics shouldn't warrant adult classification.
- The free "Friends of Jimbo (Pack 4)" update launched featuring crossover content from major franchises, simultaneous with the game's Xbox Game Pass release.
January 4
- LocalThunk created the lighthearted "Golden Thunk award" celebrating fellow indie game Animal Well as his personal 2024 Game of the Year, sparking friendly industry banter with its developer.
2024
December 16
- The developer criticized PEGI's initial 18+ rating with sarcastic commentary about adding actual microtransactions to potentially lower the age rating.
November 19
- Balatro received five prestigious Game Awards nominations while its creator used the platform to highlight other deserving indie developers.
September 27
- The game launched on mobile platforms ahead of its first major free content update scheduled for 2025.
August 27
- Balatro received the free "Friends of Jimbo" update featuring collaborations with several popular game franchises introducing new cards, artwork, and gameplay elements.
