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UNCOVERED: Localthunk - Caught on Camera

Balatro publisher Playstack only discovered it because they had a guy checking all the new releases on Steam every day: 'I saw the game the day it went up on Steam'

"I went to Twitter at the time and contacted LocalThunk. I think he had maybe two or three followers."

PC Gamer

Balatro's long-awaited 1.1 update is still in the works, LocalThunk says: "Last night I stayed up until the early hours of the morning"

The roguelike's "major gameplay" update is still coming

GamesRadar

Balatro's big 1.1 update is delayed to 2026, for a very good reason: 'I'm slow'

LocalThunk says he burned out on Balatro development in late 2024, and wants to ensure that doesn't happen again.

PC Gamer

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The best Steam Deck games worth playing in 2026

From Baldur's Gate 3 to Stardew Valley, these are the 15 best Steam Deck games to play in 2026

GamesRadar

The dev who inspired Localthunk "to make Balatro" has a new roguelike out, and with 95% positive Steam reviews it's off to a good start

Maze Mice is like Snake but also a bullet hell

GamesRadar

Fighting his own roguelike monster, Balatro creator says he's "146/150 for completionist++ and getting a taste of my own medicine"

God speed

GamesRadar

Mark Cerny Joins the 0.1% Elite with Balatro Platinum

Mark Cerny is no stranger to breaking new ground in gaming. As the mastermind behind the PlayStation 4 and 5, and with an iconic legacy spanning Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, and Knack, his career speaks for itself.

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This Balatro-style roguelike is Localthunk's nightmare, because it swaps Poker for a literal slot machine to really simulate that gambling feel and its Steam Next Fest demo is dangerously addictive

CloverPit isn't worried about its ESRB rating

GamesRadar

Dulcet-voiced Sony tech god Mark Cerny is better than you at Balatro, joins the 0.1% of players to platinum the whole game

Who's this Joker?

PC Gamer

LocalThunk shouts out "4th person to join the Balatro Discord" as their new deckbuilding tactics game gets rave reviews: "I TOLD YALL THIS GAME WOULD SLAP"

StarVaders is out now

GamesRadar

Balatro's publisher beat gold stakes and the Jokerless challenge so quickly it even surprised LocalThunk: 'How did you do this so fast?'

"I sent him the video of the score, going, like, screw you. Yeah, I got it!" said Playstack's Wout van Halderen.

PC Gamer

"I looked it up and said ah, f***": As Balatro took over the world, another publisher was sweating over its own card roguelike – which LocalThunk then promoted himself

Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers came out just a few months after Balatro

GamesRadar

"Get a journal, a pen, and buy the game already": Balatro creator says new puzzle roguelike Blue Prince is "already one of the best games I've ever played"

LocalThunk thinks Blue Prince is a lock for a GOTY nomination

GamesRadar

"Catch my goofy a** card game in the new season": LocalThunk celebrates as Balatro appears in Black Mirror season 7, months after its creator proclaimed his love for the roguelike

Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker is a huge Balatro fan

Total Film

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PC Gamer

Balatro scoops a BAFTA and Jimbo weirds it up on-stage: 'LocalThunk is really rich now… he has shoes made of gold and he thanks you for making him that way'

Also: play Animal Well.

GamesRadar

Balatro solo dev Localthunk "is really rich now," says Final Fantasy 16 star while dressed as a clown: "He has shoes made of gold and he thanks you for making him that way"

What a strange BAFTA award acceptance speech

GamesRadar

"LocalThunk is really rich now": 2 weeks after winning yet another GOTY award, Balatro sends Final Fantasy 16 star to accept award in "suspiciously arousing" Jimbo attire

"This is weird isn't it?"

PC Gamer

Balatro's creator has reached poker zen after beating every deck on every difficulty: 'All this time playing has killed any negative emotions I had toward it'

I have no enemies.

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GamesRadar

First PEGI, now YouTube - Balatro's LocalThunk seems tired of his roguelike game being age restricted for gambling-related concerns

"Good thing we are protecting children from knowing what a 4 of a kind is"

GamesRadar

Balatro creator can finally enjoy his own roguelike after beating every deck on every difficulty: "All this time playing has killed any negative emotions I had toward it"

15 decks, 8 difficulties, 120 runs

GamesRadar

Balatro creator LocalThunk stays so anonymous, a GDC attendee couldn't believe how he "crushed" the roguelike's base difficulty: "'Wow you must have played this before!'"

"I guess you could say that"

GamesRadar

Baldur's Gate 3 director Swen Vincke says indie poker roguelike Balatro was his 2024 GOTY, beating out Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Astro Bot, and Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

Balatro racks up yet another accolade

GamesRadar

Even Balatro's publisher doesn't know when LocalThunk will be done with 1.1: "Maybe I should whisper in his ear, like, 'So how's those 200 new jokers coming?'"

"I may hear it a couple days before everyone else"

PC Gamer

'He's just gonna show up one day and say, here's 100 new jokers:' Balatro's publisher doesn't know how big the 1.1 update will be or when it's coming

"I don't think he'll let us know when [Balatro 1.1] is gonna drop," said Wout van Halderen, the communications director at Playstack.

PC Gamer

Balatro's LocalThunk isn't 'trying to pull a Banksy', he just 'wanted to be left alone to make his game'

According to his publisher, LocalThunk’s anonymity is less about artsy obfuscation and more about minding his own business.

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