If you've been keeping up with gaming news over the past few months, you won't be surprised to hear that LocalThunk's innovative blend of solitaire, roguelike, and deck-building, known as Balatro, has now surpassed five million sales across all platforms. Since its launch, Balatro has been showered with critical acclaim and has garnered numerous prestigious awards, particularly on mobile platforms.
While it's true that these numbers might seem modest when compared to other titles in terms of downloads and player counts, it's important to highlight two significant factors. Firstly, Balatro is a solo-developed project, making its success even more impressive. Secondly, all these sales are premium, benefiting both the developer and publisher, Playstack.
This achievement marks a notable milestone, especially considering that since December, when the game had reached 3.5 million sales, it has added another 1.5 million, largely driven by its performance on mobile.
Place your betsWhile it might be an overstatement to label Balatro as the definitive indie breakthrough on mobile, given the plethora of other excellent releases on the platform, it undoubtedly stands out as one of the most high-profile successes. Balatro's journey to popularity has been remarkable, and its future long-term sales potential remains to be seen, especially with ongoing crossover updates and enhancements.
The key question now is whether this success will boost confidence among both average mobile gamers and industry professionals in promoting indie games on mobile platforms. We can only hope that it does.
If you're interested in our take on Balatro, feel free to check out our review and discover why we gave it a stellar five-star rating.
