Balatro Surpasses 500,000 Sales in 10 Days Amid Rating Controversy

Despite a temporary delisting from the Nintendo eShop, the indie hit Balatro achieves significant commercial success and critical acclaim.

Balatro, a poker deck-building roguelike game, has sold over 500,000 copies across all platforms in just 10 days after its release.
The game's success comes despite being temporarily delisted from the Nintendo Switch eShop in Europe due to a sudden change in its PEGI rating from 3+ to 18+.
Developed by solo developer LocalThunk, Balatro has received critical acclaim, holding a 97% rating on Steam with over 13.5k reviews.
Publisher Playstack Games has expressed gratitude for the overwhelming support and highlighted the game's profitability, reaching $1 million in gross revenue within the first eight hours of launch.
Balatro's design, which incorporates poker mechanics without promoting gambling, has sparked discussions about the interpretation of gambling imagery in video games.