Summary
- Balatro has sold 5 million copies, with at least 1 million sold in December after winning at The Game Awards.
- The roguelike is all about subverting the rules of poker by collecting cards with special powers.
- The game’s popularity will probably grow even more with an upcoming major gameplay update planned for 2025.
Balatro, one of 2024’s biggest and best indie games, has officially sold 5 million copies to date, and over 1 million copies in December, according to X posts from the game’s official account and a PR manager from the game’s publisher Playstack.
The poker roguelike game was nominated at The Game Awards in 2024, and ultimately won the Best Independent Game, Best Debut Indie Game, and Best Mobile Game categories. Getting featured on the show seemed to have an impact on the game’s sales. “To everyone who picked up Balatro after seeing it at @gameawards, we hope you’re having an amazing time with it!” the announcement of the new sales numbers says.
Per PlayStack, the game hit 3.5 million in sales in the first week of December, and it seems likely that number was meaningfully boosted after The Game Awards. What’s even more impressive is that the 5 million number doesn’t account for the number of times the game has been downloaded on Apple’s various platforms. Balatro was added to Apple Arcade in September 2024 (as “Balatro+”) and could be just as popular there as it is everywhere else.
Balatro
Balatro is a poker-inspired roguelike deck builder all about creating powerful synergies and winning big.
The poker roguelike. Balatro is a hypnotically satisfying deckbuilder where you play illegal poker hands, discover game-changing jokers, and trigger adrenaline-pumping, outrageous combos.
Combine valid poker hands with unique Joker cards in order to create varied synergies and builds. Earn enough chips to beat devious blinds, all while uncovering hidden bonus hands and decks as you progress. You’re going to need every edge you can get in order to reach the boss blind, beat the final ante and secure victory
Strategy
Digital Card Game
Roguelike
- Released
- February 20, 2024
- Developer(s)
- LocalThunk
- Publisher(s)
- Playstack
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
- Engine
- LÖVE
Related
Balatro just picked up its first major Game of the Year award
Balatro, the roguelike card game that has endeared many, has won Apple’s Arcade Game of the Year.
Balatro is bound to get even bigger
The game has been updated a few times, but an even bigger overhaul is planned for this year
Balatro
Since it was released and has grown in popularity, Balatro has been updated with new cards that act as sort of cameos for other games, but how the game works hasn’t fundamentally changed. At some point in 2025, though, developer LocalThunk plans on adding new gameplay mechanics to the card game in a “major gameplay update.” The update will apparently introduce “new ideas and strategies to the game” and be available for free on every platform you can play Balatro.
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