Balatro Developer Chronicles the Stressful Journey Behind 2024's Indie Hit

Solo developer LocalThunk shares the highs and lows of creating the award-winning poker roguelike, including health challenges and unexpected success.

LocalThunk, the anonymous solo developer of Balatro, detailed the game's three-year development journey in a blog post titled 'The Balatro Timeline.'
Balatro began as a hobby project in December 2021 and evolved into a full-scale indie game, launching in February 2024 to critical acclaim and massive sales.
The intense stress of development, including managing public expectations and publisher negotiations, led to physical and mental health struggles for LocalThunk, culminating in an anxiety attack in January 2024.
Despite anticipating significant launch issues, Balatro debuted with minimal bugs, earning a 91 on Metacritic and generating $600,000 in revenue within hours of release.
Balatro has since sold over five million copies, won Best Indie Game at The Game Awards 2024, and cemented its place as one of the most successful indie games of recent years.