Popular roguelike card game Balatro is on a roll. After selling 500,000 copies in 10 days, grossing US$1 million in eight hours, and clocking a playtime of 1,742 years, solo developer LocalThunk has another, well, card up their sleeves.
The digital deckbuilder is coming to iOS and Android devices, as shared in an AMA (short for Ask Me Anything) with LocalThunk on Reddit earlier this week. “The Switch port, PC version, MacOS version, and both mobile ports are being done by me!” he confirmed in the comment thread. “[Publisher] Playstack was just giving me a hand on some answers (as you can see there was a lot of typing yesterday).”
A release date has yet to be announced, so don’t be taken in by the Balatro Poker listing on the App Store — that’s not official. The poker-inspired title is now available to play on Xbox, PlayStation, PC, and Nintendo Switch (in some regions), with future plans including balance changes, new additional jokers, and merch options like physical decks.
Released last month, Balatro marries poker mechanics and hands with earning massive combos and using power-ups, acquired by purchasing poker joker cards with passive effects. The aim is score enough points to defeat all rounds, known as “Antes”, which has three rounds called “Blinds”: a “Small Blind”, a “Big Blind”, and a “Boss Blind”. Each comes with its own unique challenge and a target score to beat.
After becoming a sleeper hit, Balatro was briefly banned from some storefronts over a ratings mistake. The setback did little to deter its popularity, however, as it hit the half-million sales milestone in under two weeks — an impressive feat for an indie title about shuffling cards around.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
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