Balatro Was Never Supposed to be a Hit

In late 2021, an IT professional known as LocalThunk started working on a small side project inspired by the Cantonese card game Big Two. This game, which involved creating poker-like hands, eventually turned into Balatro.

At first, it was just another hobby project. But when a friend casually mentioned playing the prototype for ‘20, 30, or 40’ hours, it was clear this was something special.

Balatro took inspiration from the roguelike Luck Be a Landlord, blending deck-building mechanics with roguelike elements. Despite its poker theme, the developer doesn’t actually play poker and insists the game isn’t based on real poker rules.

As development progressed, UK-based publisher Playstack noticed the game and helped bring it to a wider audience. After release, it received a 91% review score and was named 2024’s overall game of the year by PC Gamer.

The unexpected success changed everything for LocalThunk. He left his IT job, bought a house with his partner, and is now focusing on game development full-time. He’s currently working on a major 1.1 update and hasn’t ruled out adding even more content.

What started as a simple passion project turned into one of the year’s biggest indie hits.