Summary
Balatrohas sold five million copies as it approaches its first anniversary in February 2025. One of 2024’s most unique indie games,Balatrois a poker-based roguelike deck builder that took the gaming world by storm last year. Nominated in five categories at The Game Awards 2024 including Game of the Year, it walked away with three of them: Best Indie, Best Debut Indie, and Best Mobile Game.
Balatroquickly became wildly popular when it was initially released on PC and consoles on May 21, 2025. It came to macOS a few weeks later and made a huge splash when it was finally made available on mobile devices in September. By early October, developer LocalThunk revealed that gamers have spent a whopping11,000 years playingBalatroacross all platforms, with the game surpassing 3.5 million copies sold before Christmas.
Now, LocalThunk has even more great news for fans of the poker roguelike. On Twitter, the developer revealed thatBalatrohas sold five million units and thanked everybody who’s jumped into the game following thehype generated at The Game Awards 2024. Five million copies sold within one year is sensational for a solo-developed indie game, and in the same tweet, LocalThunk also urged fans ofBalatroto buy more indie games, showing support for fellow small game studios and developers.
Balatro Celebrates Five Million Units Sold
It seems thatBalatro’s big presence at The Game Awards 2024may have given the game the extra boost it needed to cross the five million copies sold mark within its first year.Balatro’s previous milestone update was 3.5 million just prior to The Game Awards, meaning the game sold 1.5 million copies in a little over a month. There are still other awards ceremonies set to take place, like the DICE Awards, the New York Game Awards, and the Independent Games Festival. While these are a tad smaller than Geoff Keighley’s Game Awards, they may still giveBalatroanother small sales bump if the game shows up in a big way.
Balatrohad a wildly successful 2024, but LocalThunk will likely have more in store for fans in 2025. The game has hosted several “Friends of Jimbo” cosmetic crossovers with games likeCult of the Lamb,Among Us,Dave the Diver, and evenCD Projekt Red’sThe WitcherandCyberpunk 2077. Fans should be able to expect more of these fun collabs this year asBalatrobarrels toward its next milestone.
Balatro
WHERE TO PLAY
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
