On the eve of its release anniversary, indie card gameBalatrohas hit a major sales milestone.Balatrowas one of 2024’s greatest gaming surprises: the first game released by pseudonymous solo developer LocalThunk, it wasreleased to rave reviews, a massive fan base, and even aGame of the Year nom. It’s been widely praised for its engaging, poker-based roguelike gameplay, the myriad ways it allows players to meld cards, Jokers, and hands to create an unstoppable high-scoring engine.
AndBalatro’s been rewarded many times over for its innovative brilliance - five million times, to be exact. According to a post on the officialBalatroX (formerly Twitter) account today,Balatrohas achieved the major milestone of five million units sold. The post expresses nothing but gratitude for millions ofBalatrofans, especially those who purchased it after seeing it featured at the Game Awards, where it earned three accolades, including Best Indie Game.
Balatro Hits 5 Million Units Sold
How Balatro Became An Overnight Hit
It’s hard to express in words just how surprisingBalatrowas. It came out of nowhere, but I remember hearing excellent things about it before it was even released.It seemed every single person who had tried it had something positive to say aboutBalatro, or was so busy playing it they couldn’t even make the time to comment.
And all that good press counted for something, asBalatrowas already profitable just an hour after it was released, and soared to a $1 million gross within eight hours, according to aGame Developerinterview with publisher Playstack. It was selling like hotcakes, and people couldn’t get enough ofBalatro. The praise only ramped up with further updates, and reached a fever pitch withBalatro’s Game of the Year nod at The Game Awards 2024.
After The Game Awards, Balatro Has Picked Up Steam Once Again
Indie Games' Moment In The Sun
I’ll be honest:I was really rooting forBalatrogoing into The Game Awards. I knew it wouldn’t win GOTY, especially after it took Best Indie, but I had hope. Not thatAstro Botdidn’t deserve its win, but I really wanted to see an indie game take home the gold. As much as I love big triple-A spectaculars, many of my most evocative, unique, and memorable video game experiences have come from indies. Plus, I had been underBalatro’s spell since day one, so I had some skin in the game.
I Finally Played Balatro And It Confirmed Why 2024 Was Such A Good Year For Games
Balatro is an excellent game and one of 2024’s best. However, it is also illustrative of why 2024 was such a phenomenal year for gaming.
Of course, it didn’t win GOTY, but its prominent appearance at The Game Awards apparently had a different effect:like every awards show,it boosted sales of all the games featured, even those that didn’t win. The celebratory post makes a point of thanking players who took a chance onBalatroafter seeing it at The Game Awards, noting their role in its massive success.
Finally, the post went on to encourage players to try more indie games, especially ifBalatrowas their first. Famouslyinspired by indie gameLuck Be a Landlord, LocalThunk has frequently supported their fellow indie developers, recently declaringindie MetroidvaniaAnimal Wellgame of the year and granting it the “Golden Thunk” award. It’s a great thing to do with such a big platform, and provesBalatro’s success couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person.
Sources:Balatro/X,Game Developer
Balatro
Developed by LocalThunk, Balatro is a deck-building poker roguelike game released on all main modern consoles and PCs in 2024. Set up as a unique fusion of deck-building and poker, Balatro tasks players with trying to win escalating games of poker where they can purchase joker cards with unique effects to help win and conquer their opponents.
