Balatro's Creator Stunned by Game's Wild Success

Balatro, created by solo developer LocalThunk, emerged as a standout indie success story of 2024, selling more than 5 million copies. The game made a significant impact on the gaming landscape, winning popularity and multiple awards at The Game Awards 2024. This level of achievement surprised both the gaming community and the developer himself.

LocalThunk shared that due to the game's unconventional premise, he originally expected reviews in the modest 6-7 out of 10 range. However, when PC Gamer awarded it a score of 91, with other critics soon following, Balatro's rating quickly climbed to 90 on Metacritic and OpenCritic. The developer admitted this was a complete shock, as he personally would not have rated his own creation above an 8.

Publisher Playstack contributed substantially to this success through active pre-release outreach to the media. Yet, the most powerful driver behind sales was player-driven word of mouth, which propelled the game to outperform initial forecasts by 10 to 20 times. On its first day on Steam, 119,000 copies were sold—a moment the developer described as the most surreal of his life.

The game's triumph was so profound that its creator acknowledged he has no universal formula to offer other indie developers hoping to replicate it.