Balatro Achieves Instant Success, Grossing Over $1 Million Hours After Launch

The innovative deck-building roguelike game, developed by solo developer LocalThunk and published by Playstack, has sold over 250,000 copies across all platforms within 72 hours.

Balatro, a poker-themed deck-building roguelike game, has become a sensation, grossing over $1 million within hours of its release and achieving profitability in just one hour.
Developed by solo developer LocalThunk and published by Playstack, Balatro has sold over 250,000 copies across all platforms within 72 hours of launch.
The game's success is attributed to its innovative gameplay, which combines elements of poker with roguelike mechanics, allowing players to create powerful and unique card combinations.
Despite its poker theme, the developer LocalThunk reveals that Balatro is more heavily inspired by the roguelike Luck Be a Landlord and the Cantonese card game Big Two, rather than traditional poker.
Balatro's rapid rise to popularity is also fueled by its strong online presence, with an overwhelmingly positive rating on Steam and significant attention from streamers and gaming communities.