Look to the left. Look to the right. One of those people is about to be discovered Balatro for the first time. The other one has already been playing it secretly in every free minute.
Balatro was one from 2024 early breakout hits on Steam. His roguelike take on traditional poker combines clever deck-building mechanics with an incredibly satisfying and click-happy presentation. During the summer it seemed as if the “just one more round” sensation had reached its peak. It feels like that now Balatro-Pilling has just begun.
For those who haven't played it yet: Balatro Tasks players with poker hands to score points. Players must reach certain thresholds to progress and earn gold for successful rounds, which they can then spend on customizing their decks and acquiring powerful jokers that improve the scores of their hands in a variety of ways. There are no actual bets, but the constant risk-reward analysis required with every move provides the stakes and excitement associated with real gambling.
After the explosion in February BalatroThe second wave began in September. Developer LocalThunk brought the card game to mobile devices, which proved to be the perfect platform for hunting for rare jokers and high scores. App magic reported that the game grossed $1 million in its first week, a small fortune for a $10 game in the world of microtransactions and ad-supported free-to-play hits on the App Store.
Then in November, Balatro received multiple nominations at The Game Awards 2024which brings the whole thing into high gear. It was not only represented in the “Best Indie Games” and “Mobile Games” categories, but also in the “Best Director” and “Best Debut” categories. For a total of five nominations, it even secured the most coveted prize of all, a 2024 GOTY nomination. A testament to both the impact of presenter Geoff Keighley's awards ceremony and how small it is BalatroAlthough the footprint was still large, countless new players began to take notice.
Sales on mobile devices skyrocketed, with Balatro supposedly collecting $4.4 million since launching on smartphones and over $727,000 last week alone following the announcement of the 2024 Game Awards nominees earlier this month. The game also saw an increase in concurrent players on Steam, as well as thousands of new reviews on Valve's own store (where the game is also currently 15 percent off).
But Balatro is also clearly on the move in the popular gamer conscience. A common encounter with a newbie's name It's going ok. Someone you've never heard of Balatro finds out about it. They think the game can't possibly be that hype and then they try it. The next thing they know, it's all they can think about. Fans new and old have made it their mission to express this obsessive quality Post unexplained pictures of the game's iconic Joker face with every mention of the game on social media.
Possibly contributes to the renewed zeitgeist surrounding the game is a small reactionary controversy around his official GOTY nomination. While some players have complained about this Elden Ring'S Shadow of the Earth Tree DLC gets a nomination in place of full games released this year Starblade or Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, others have vilified Balatro as “just a deck of cards“ or a shallow splash into the mobile pan.
That seems like a good bet Balatro will win at least one award at the Game Awards, which will increase its popularity even further. And rightly so. Balatro is a master class how a game can captivate a player and then never let go. It helps that LocalThunk has made a surprising amount of updates over the past few months, adding crossovers with popular properties ranging from The Witcher 3 To Dave the diver. I wouldn't be surprised if we get at least a few more before the end of the year. Balatro cannot be stopped.
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