The game Balatro, developed by LocalThunk, got a good chuckle out of its creator due to its unexpected PEGI 18 rating, which he humorously called “comedy.” This Canadian developer didn’t shy away from sarcasm, even suggesting that maybe adding some real gambling mechanics could lower the rating—pointing to EA Sports FC 25, a game that includes such features but carries a notably lower PEGI 3 rating. PEGI rationalized their high rating by noting that Balatro teaches poker mechanics, which might be seen as promoting gambling.
LocalThunk, who prefers to keep his real name out of the public eye, is a one-man show hailing from Canada. Despite his anonymity, he has maintained an active presence on social media. This didn’t change even when his first game, Balatro, became something of an overnight sensation shortly after its release in early 2024.
In a move typical for him, LocalThunk took to Twitter on December 15 to express his amusement over the game’s PEGI 18 rating. He gave a tongue-in-cheek suggestion about potentially incorporating features like loot boxes to perhaps dip into a lower rating bracket, citing EA Sports FC 25 as an example. This contrast, where a game like Balatro, which includes poker mechanics, gets a high rating, while a soccer game with loot boxes gets a lower rating, struck him as comedic.
PEGI reasons this decision based on Balatro’s thematic elements, which prominently include “gambling imagery” that PEGI believes could teach real-life poker skills. Interestingly, LocalThunk isn’t a poker fan himself; he made this clear in a February 2024 interview with PC Gamer. His disdain for associating Balatro with gambling is so strong that he even wrote into his will that the game’s intellectual property can never be sold to a gambling company. So, while Balatro may share elements with poker, the intent was never to promote real gambling.
Notably, Balatro holds a much lower rating from the ESRB, which judged it appropriate for players aged 10 and up since it lacks real gambling features like wagering during gameplay. Germany’s USK, known for its stringent ratings, also rated it as suitable for ages 12 and above, further highlighting the discrepancy in Balatro’s PEGI rating compared to other systems.
LocalThunk’s critique of PEGI isn’t new; during a Reddit AMA in March 2024, he described the rating as both “unwarranted” and disheartening. Despite this, the rating hasn’t hampered Balatro’s success—it has sold over 3.5 million copies by mid-December 2024 and scored big at The Game Awards 2024, taking home three awards, tying with Metaphor: ReFantazio for the night’s second highest number of wins.
Balatro, a poker-themed roguelike deck-builder, has captivated players with its unique blend of strategy and rogue-like elements. Players enjoy assembling effective poker-style hands enriched with special Joker cards, crafting a variety of strategic synergies to progress. Released on February 20, 2024, and powered by the LÖVE engine, Balatro is praised across the board, underscored by a “Mighty” rating on OpenCritic. It’s a game where combining powerful poker hands and the right strategy will ultimately secure victory against challenging in-game foes.
