Balatro (Switch eShop) News Articles
Tuesday4th Nov 2025
Random Balatro's Charity Calendar Is Ludicrous, And An Absolute Must-Buy
Jimbo is a Starr
Remember that Balatro trailer when Ben Starr, the voice of Clive Rosfield in Final Fantasy XVI, Dycedarg Beouvle in Final Fantasy Tactics, and Prometheus in Hades II, dressed up as the game's iconic mascot Jimbo? Need more of that in your life? Well, LocalThunk, PlayStack, and Fangamer have you covered. The video game merchandise
Tuesday28th Oct 2025
News Vampire Survivors' Latest Free Crossover Will Surely Be Its Most Addictive Yet
Poker face
Remember how much time you have sunk into Vampire Survivors? How about all the hours you've put into Balatro? What if they were... in the same game? Yep, you guessed it, Vampire Survivors is crossing over with Balatro in the new 'Ante Chamber' free expansion. This one arrives on most platforms today, but we'll have to wait a little...
Thursday27th Mar 2025
Random Chances Are You've Been Pronouncing 'Balatro' Wrong
It's Balatro, not Balatro
Ever since its release and subsequent success in 2024, indie hit Balatro has garnered attention for a somewhat surprising and amusing reason. That being how you're actually supposed to pronounce the title correctly. Is it 'Bah-LAH-trow'? 'BAH-luh-trow'? 'Bay-LAH-troo'? Yeah okay, no one's saying that last one... Well, we...
Thursday20th Mar 2025
News The Reason For Balatro Dev's Anonymity Is Pretty Straightforward, Actually
It's no big ruse
With Balatro exploding in popularity over the last year or so, one of the biggest mysteries surrounding the game's development and release is one that has yet to be solved: just who is developer LocalThunk? Well, if you happen to be particularly keen to find out, we'd urge you to keep your expectations in check. According to an...
Friday7th Mar 2025
News "I Felt Totally Overwhelmed" - Balatro Dev Releases Development Timeline
From inception to launch
Balatro developer LocalThunk has released a complete timeline of the game's development, from its inception in 2021 to its eventual launch on 20th February 2024. You can read the whole thing on LocalThunk's website, but the developer states that the intention behind the post was due to "constantly forgetting major moments...
Wednesday26th Feb 2025
Random A Homebrew Port Of Balatro Is Now Available On Nintendo DS
Though key features are missing
Given the immense popularity of Balatro since its launch last year, it was really only a matter of time before it was unofficially ported over to other systems via homebrew modding. Well, that time is upon us, folks. Thanks to Haynster over on Github (via GBATemp), Balatro is now available to play on the Nintendo DS...
Tuesday25th Feb 2025
News Balatro's New Free Update Features Crossovers With Assassin's Creed, Fallout, Civ And More
How many friends does this guy have?
Prepare yourselves, poker fans, because our beloved roguelike Balatro has just landed another 'Friends of Jimbo' update, adding a whole new batch of crossovers into the mix. Much like the three previous additions, the latest update features new card cosmetics from eight different crossover games. The Assassin's...
Monday24th Feb 2025
News Balatro's Ridiculous 18+ Age Rating Is Finally Lowered
Justice is dealt
PEGI (Pan European Game Information) has announced that it has lowered the age rating for the smash-hit poker roguelike Balatro (thanks, Eurogamer). The game drew plenty of attention when PEGI rated it 18+ in Europe, citing its resemblance to the real-world game of poker as the main catalyst. It reasoned that players may be able to...
Friday14th Feb 2025
News No Wins For Nintendo At DICE Awards, But Balatro Bags A Three Of A Kind
And Animal Well wins 'Best Direction'
The 28th annual DICE Awards ceremony has recently taken place in Las Vegas, and though Astro Bot robbed Nintendo of any potential wins (perhaps deservedly, to be honest – it's a bloomin' good game), there were a few notable nods toward a couple of outstanding indie titles available on Switch. Those games are...
Tuesday21st Jan 2025
News Balatro Dev Urges Fans To Buy More Indie Games As Title Hits 5 Million Units Sold
Keep it up!
Balatro has now officially sold 5 million copies since its initial launch on 20th February 2024. This number is a significant increase over the 2 million units previously reported in August 2024. The reason for this will likely be two-fold: since then, the game has been released on mobile devices and also received multiple awards at
Monday6th Jan 2025
Random Balatro Dev Spreads Some Indie Love In His List Of 2024 Highlights
And the LocalThunk Award goes to...
Balatro was one of our games of 2024 and the vast majority of us at Nintendo Life Towers have poured more hours into its poker roguelike gameplay loop than we care to admit. But what were the games that caught the attention of its developer, LocalThunk? With 2025 finally here, the dev took to Twitter to share some...
Friday20th Dec 2024
Random Balatro Fans Start The Ultimate Debate: Is That Jimbo's Clown Ruff Or Tiny Body?
We fold
If a glance at most of our Nintendo Switch Year in Review stats is anything to go by, then more than a few of us have spent a good bit of time with Balatro this year. We've spent so long with it, in fact, that its iconography is pretty much burned into our minds by this point. It sure would be a shame if one joke tweet made us see the whole...
Wednesday18th Dec 2024
News Balatro Developer Calls Out 'PEGI' For Its "Weirdo" 18+ Rating
While games with real-life gambling are 3+
Balatro developer 'LocalThunk' has called out ratings board 'Pan-European Game Information', A.K.A 'PEGI', for its "weirdo" decision to rate the game 18+. The title, which recently won 'Best Independent Game', 'Best Debut Indie Game', and 'Best Mobile Game' at The Game Awards 2024, received the highest...
Friday13th Dec 2024
News The Game Awards GOTY For 2024 Is Astro Bot
Here's the full list of winners
The Game Awards for 2024 is now over and Asobi's Astro Bot has officially won Game of the Year. It was up against Black Myth: Wukong, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth,
Thursday12th Dec 2024
News Balatro Gets More Free 'Friends Of Jimbo' With Cult Of The Lamb, 1000xResist, And Shovel Knight
Hello JimBen (Starr)
Do you need yet another reason to go back to the incredibly moreish poker roguelike Balatro? Yes? well how about eight more Friends of Jimbo! Friends of Jimbo 3 is out now for free, and it adds eight new cosmetic flairs that you can apply to your cards. And at last, Shovel Knight has managed to dig his way into the game — it...
Tuesday3rd Dec 2024
News The Game Awards 2024 Players' Voice Nominees Have Been Revealed - Zelda, Sonic And More
Voting is now open
Ahead of The Game Awards next week, the 'players' voice' nominees have now been revealed. This is a "100% fan voted award" that takes place across three rounds. Round one requires players to vote for their 10 favourite games from a list of 30, and ends on 4th December 2024 (aka tomorrow). On the Nintendo front, The Legend of...
Friday25th Oct 2024
News Balatro's New Free Update Features Crossovers With Stardew Valley, Slay The Spire And More
How many friends does this Jimbo have?
Hot off the back of Balatro's 'Friends of Jimbo' update, which added the likes of The Witcher III, Dave The Diver and more to the poker roguelike back in August, developer LocalThunk has now added another crossover pack and, once again, it's
Tuesday24th Sep 2024
UK Charts Another Quiet Week Underscores The Need For Something New
Zelda would do nicely
The latest UK Charts are in and, look, we'll be honest folks, it's not a particularly spectacular week in the land of gaming; particularly for Nintendo fans (though that will no doubt change when Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom drops). At the top, PS5's Astro Bot has managed to claim victory after a bit of a slower than expected...
Tuesday27th Aug 2024
News Balatro Scores Crossover With The Witcher, Vampire Survivors And More In New Free Update
Available later today
Kicking off the Nintendo Indie World showcase with a bang, the super-addictive poker roguelike Balatro is scoring a crossover with The Witcher III, Vampire Survivors, Dave The Diver and Among Us (yes, really) in a new free update available later today. Expect to see wonderful crossover card art aplenty as these four behemoths...
Friday23rd Aug 2024
News New Balatro Merch Adds Exclusive Abstract Joker Shirt
We're all in
A new Summer range of Balatro merch has been revealed (which, bizarrely, comes just under a month away from Fall, but never mind) and includes a rather fetching Abstract Joker shirt based on a design by developer LocalThunk. Each shirt is available now for £24.99 (plus shipping), with the full collection consisting of the...
Wednesday7th Aug 2024
News Balatro Celebrates 2 Million Units Sold With A Free Update Announcement
Coming 2025
It's no secret that Balatro, the poker-themed roguelike from developer LocalThunk, is bloody brilliant, but it's always nice to see critical acclaim reflected in unit sales. As such, it's now been announced that the game has sold a whopping 2 million units since its launch on 20th February 2024. That's not all, though. To celebrate the...
Monday29th Jul 2024
Random Can Balatro Run DOOM? Yep, It Seems It Can
"Literally nobody asked for it, but here it is"
The age-old question of "Can it run DOOM?" now extends to poker roguelikes, it seems. And if you have ever wondered "Can Balatro run DOOM?" (and why wouldn't you have wondered that?) the answer is yes. Yes, it can (thanks, Eurogamer). Reddit user UwUDev took to the official Balatro forum to share...
Friday14th Jun 2024
News Deckbuilder 'Wildfrost' Scores Balatro Crossover In New Update, Here Are The Patch Notes
Card life
The adorable roguelike deckbuilder Wildfrost has landed a crossover with Balatro as a part of its 'Friends and Foes' update. This update slid onto Steam at the start of the month but has only just thawed on Switch this week — just in time for Europe's eShop Summer Sale, we might add. So, what's included? Obviously we're excited to see...
Saturday8th Jun 2024
News Balatro Special Edition Physical Release Announced For Switch
Pre-orders start soon
In some surprise news, the Giant Bomb team has revealed Balatro will be getting a physical "special edition" release across multiple platforms including the Nintendo Switch. There are not many details beyond this just yet, but we do know "pre-orders are starting soon" and there'll be a booster pack of Joker cards and playing...
Friday3rd May 2024
News Spread The Balatro Love With This New Range Of Official Merchandise
We're all in
There was a time earlier this year where we had two states: playing Balatro, or thinking about playing Balatro. Our daily hours played may have begun to drop in the months since, but there's no denying that it has permanently set up shop in our minds. And guess what, it can now do the same in our wardrobes! Yes, Balatro publisher...
Tuesday9th Apr 2024
News Balatro Is Getting Its First Major Update
The roguelike deck builder has more on the way
One of the most popular releases of the year so far is the roguelike deck builder hit Balatro. Although it had some teething issues on the Switch (with a temporary removal from the eShop), it's since returned and has gone on to sell more than one million copies across all platforms. Now, it seems the
Monday25th Mar 2024
Random Japanese Police Officer Gets Slapped Wrist For Playing Switch On Duty
“I played games when there were few incidents”
We all know how easy it can be to lose ourselves in our Nintendo Switch from time to time. You might find yourself picking up something like Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom or the recently launched Balatro and have the genuine intention to only play for around 10 or 15 minutes. Suddenly, it's 2am and...
Monday18th Mar 2024
News Balatro Has Officially Sold 1 Million Copies
That's a lot of Jokers
The magnificent poker roguelike Balatro has officially sold over 1 million copies since its launch on 20th February, 2024. The news was confirmed via a post from the official X account for Balatro, including a rather lovely little GIF in which a bunch of playing cards spell out the words 'Thanks a Million'. It also promises...
Friday8th Mar 2024
News Balatro Back On Switch eShop In Europe With New Age Rating
It's now 18+
Good news for deckbuilding fans itching to play the indie smash hit Balatro, as the game has returned to the Switch eShop today in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Just a week ago, the game disappeared from Switch storefronts due to "a reaction to an overnight change to Balatro's age rating". Today, publisher Playstack shared the...
Wednesday6th Mar 2024
News Balatro Surpasses 500,000 Sales In First 10 Days
Ante social
We love Balatro. You love Balatro. It's safe to say at this point that everyone loves Balatro. Need proof of the word of mouth on this roguelike deckbuilder? It has surpassed 500,000 units sold in its first 10 days across all platforms. Five. Hundred. Thousand. These are big numbers for any old game, but it's extra impressive for an...
