Balatro is, by all definitions, a huge success, but its creator initially had astonishingly low expectations for the moreish poker roguelike.
Balatro launched on February 20 and sold over 1 million copies by March 18, not even a month later. As with many indie success stories, solo developer LocalThunk didn’t expect anything like the reception he’s gotten.
“I was expecting like four of my friends and my parents to buy the game, and that would have been awesome, so no, the entire past year has been a series of crazy events,” he wrote on Twitter in response to someone asking if he anticipated the love it’s gotten.
If you haven’t played the game yet, I can’t recommend it in good conscience because it may very well take over your life. It’s now on mobile, too, so you can play it on the go – devastating news for my productivity.
While the game has now sold over two million copies and also topped mobile game charts, beating out the likes of Minecraft and Stardew Valley, it had very humble beginnings. “My actual production project folder is called ‘CardGame’ and is still in my ‘Learning’ directory, if that tells you anything about the expectations I had for the game,” LocalThunk writes.
LocalThunk once called the game Fool’s Gambit but admitted it was “obviously not a great name.” If you’re wondering where the current name comes from, a balatro is a word for an Ancient Roman jester. So the name we all know and love it by is very fitting given the game revolves around collecting and using joker cards with various effects.
If you’re curious about Balatro and want to know more, you should read our interview with the developer. If you’ve already given it a go and not played in a while, now is the perfect time to jump back in because the latest free update includes crossovers with games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Slay the Spire.
Meanwhile, here are some of the other best roguelike games you can play right now.
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