Balatro: Latest News Updates

Balatro is an innovative deck-building game challenging players to surpass increasingly difficult blinds using both conventional and unconventional cards. Discover the latest updates and milestones shaping this captivating title.

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Balatro News

2025

June 22

Balatro creator Localthunk has achieved the remarkable "Completionist++" milestone in his own game. Sharing his accomplishment on social media, the developer revealed how nightly gaming sessions became part of his routine.

The achievement has provided valuable insights for designing the anticipated 1.1 update, with Localthunk expressing excitement about replaying the game with fresh content.

Read more: 100% completing Balatro has developer better equipped to design the next big update (Eurogamer)

June 9

Balatro secured the Delightful & Fun Games honor at WWDC 2025, as announced on the game's official X account.

Read more: Balatro Wins Award at WWDC 2025 (Official Balatro X Page)

May 28

PlayStation architect Mark Cerny joins the elite 0.1% of players who've earned Balatro's Platinum trophy. Sharing his achievement online, Cerny praised the game's depth after dedicating hundreds of gameplay hours.

Read more: Balatro's PlayStation Platinum trophy has only been obtained by 0.1% of players, and Mark Cerny is one of them (Eurogamer)

April 15

Playstack's communications director Wout van Halderen stunned players by conquering Balatro's toughest challenges, including the infamous Jokerless mode requiring flawless strategy without key gameplay elements.

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

April 6

Developer LocalThunk criticized YouTube's age-restriction policies on Balatro content despite its PEGI 12+ rating, highlighting platform inconsistencies regarding gambling-themed mechanics.

Read more: Balatro Creator Comments on YouTube Age Restricting Videos of the Game (Game Rant)

March 26

The official pronunciation guide confirms "BAH-la-tro" as the correct way to say Balatro's title, sourced directly from creator LocalThunk.

Read more: How do you pronounce Balatro? The official answer has been confirmed (VGC)

March 20

Despite Balatro's commercial success, LocalThunk maintains his preference for staying outside the spotlight, prioritizing game development over public recognition.

Read more: Balatro's LocalThunk isn't 'trying to pull a Banksy', he just 'wanted to be left alone to make his game' (PC Gamer)

March 13

LocalThunk reinforced his stance against AI-generated art within Balatro communities, emphasizing support for human artists amid subreddit policy debates.

Read more: LocalThunk forbids AI-generated art on the Balatro subreddit: 'I think it does real harm to artists of all kinds' (PC Gamer)

March 10

The developer experienced a profound realization of Balatro's entertainment value mere days before launch, reflecting on the emotional culmination of years of development.

Read more: 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 (PC Gamer)

March 7

LocalThunk revealed his conscious decision to avoid other roguelikes during Balatro's development to ensure completely original gameplay mechanics.

Read more: Balatro developer stopped playing other roguelikes to try and reinvent the wheel with hit poker game (Eurogamer)

February 27

The developer pinpointed Klondike solitaire as Balatro's primary inspiration, aiming to modernize classic card game elements with contemporary design.

Read more: Balatro dev says solitaire exists at the peak of game culture and was debatably the most important inspiration for his poker roguelike (GameRant)

February 24

Balatro's age rating successfully reduced to PEGI 12 following appeals demonstrating its educational poker elements don't promote real gambling.

Read more: Balatro wins formal appeal to reclassify poker game as PEGI 12 (Eurogamer)

The Friends of Jimbo (Pack 4) update introduced crossover content from major franchises alongside Xbox Game Pass availability.

Read more: Balatro ‘Friends of Jimbo [Pack 4]’ update now available (Gematsu)

January 4

LocalThunk inaugurated the Golden Thunk award recognizing indie excellence, presenting the inaugural honor to Animal Well developer Billy Basso.

Read more: Balatro creator shares the GOTY love with other indie games while giving out a very prestigious Golden Thunk award (PC Gamer)

2024

December 16

The developer challenged PEGI's initial 18+ rating with sarcastic commentary on gaming industry rating inconsistencies.

Read more: Balatro dev swings at PEGI for rating it 18+ because of its 'evil playing cards', jokes that he should 'add microtransactions' like EA Sports FC 25 to 'lower that rating to a 3+' (PC Gamer)

November 19

Balatro secured five Game Awards nominations celebrating its innovation and achievements as an independent title.

Read more: All Balatro's creator wants to do after the game received 5 nominations at the Game Awards is praise other overlooked developers: 'We all know how hard this industry can be and help each other when we can' (PC Gamer)

September 27

The roguelike launched mobile versions across Google Play, App Store, and Apple Arcade ahead of promised free 2025 gameplay expansions.

Read more: Balatro Available on Google Play, App Store, and Apple Arcade Now! (Game8)

August 27

The Friends of Jimbo update debuted featuring crossover content from acclaimed titles like The Witcher 3 and Among Us, available gratis to all players.

Read more: Balatro: Friends of Jimbo DLC Collabs With Witcher 3, Vampire Survivors, Dave the Diver and Among Us (Game8)