The Steam hit Balatro, although inspired by Poker, is never intended to become a real gambling game. The developer is now ensuring that the game will not fall into the wrong hands even after his death.
What game is it about? The card game Balatro was one of the big surprise hits on Steam in spring 2024. It is based on Poker and is categorized under the genre of Roguelike Deckbuilders. Balatro was developed by a single person who even quit his job for it.
On Steam, Balatro enjoys an “extremely positive” rating of 97% and is ranked 3rd among the best-rated card games. On August 7, 2024, the indie hit reached the milestone of 2 million units sold – a success that apparently surprised no one more than the developer himself.
The developer has apparently invested part of the revenue in lawyers to ensure that his work never falls into the wrong hands.
Developer Takes a Strong Stance
What did the developer stipulate? The developer, who remains anonymous and appears online only under the name “LocalThunk,” announced on August 6, 2024, via X that he included Balatro in his last will.
The programmer stipulated in his will that the IP may never be sold or licensed to a gambling company or casino, even after his death. This is to prevent Balatro from ever becoming a “real gambling game”.
LocalThunk responded to a post that jokingly proposed the “conspiracy theory” that Balatro is secretly a military project (“PsyOp”) to lure younger generations into casinos.
In a comment, the developer mentioned that he had already received offers in recent months to license the Balatro IP, presumably to release gambling games like slot machines or video poker designed in the style of the game (via X).
In an interview, LocalThunk explained that he worked on Balatro alongside his job as a programmer. A very similar story had occurred a year earlier: Developer worked on his own game alongside his job – Lands the Steam hit of 2022 and resigns from his job
