Balatro has officially launched on iPhone and Android, bringing the addictive roguelike to mobile and topping the charts immediately. Balatro tops mobile game charts despite one potentially fatal flaw
Balatro mobile has only just hit iOS and Android marketplaces and it’s already dethroned mobile mainstays like Stardew Valley and Geometry Dash from the top spot of the charts. The port is available to buy from the App Store and Google Play, and it’s also available for free via Apple Arcade.
If you haven’t heard of Balatro yet, it’s a poker-themed roguelike game, which doesn’t sound like it should go together, but we promise you, it does. You don’t even need to be a professional poker player to go for a win, because illegal card hands and sneaky moves are welcomed, which only adds to an already super satisfying gameplay loop. It’s silly, it’s fun, and once you start you simply can’t stop.
Considering the fact that Balatro has already sold a cool million copies across multiple platforms, it stands to reason that publisher Playstack and solo developer Localthunk expected the mobile port to do well. However, even Localthunk was taken aback by its mobile success, as at the time of writing, Balatro is the number one paid game on both the App Store and Google Play, beating out games like Minecraft, Slay the Spire, and Ellen’s Heads Up.
What’s even more impressive is that all of this success has come while the mobile port is suffering from an unfortunate UI design choice that’s costing some players their cards. Reddit users are discussing potential design changes they’d like to see after a few of them have accidentally sold their Joker cards when trying to rearrange their hand due to the slightly cramped mobile UI.
We’re sure that Localthunk and Playstack will rejig the mobile UI as soon as they can, especially given how dedicated the solo developer has been to constantly updating the console and PC versions of Balatro. Now that it’s dominating every gaming platform and has scored several high-profile collaborations, we can’t wait to see what’s next for this tricky title.