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MYSTERIOUS: Playstack - You Need To See This

Instead of wishlisting its game, the developer of my favorite Next Fest demo wants you to play anyone else's: 'There are some genuinely great creators in this fest who deserve the attention'

It's an unconventional marketing strategy, but I'll allow it.

PC Gamer

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 publisher Playstack could soon belong to the same private equity firm that owns Fandom and GameSpot

Playstack CEO Harvey Elliott says "for now, it's business as usual."

PC Gamer

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Steam Next Fest is full of Balatro-likes: here's 7 demos I think you should try

From pushing coins to sweeping mines, developers are still trying to capture LocalThunk's magic.

PC Gamer

Balatro's new merch is just as unhinged as we've come to expect

It's also decently cheap and the profits go to a great cause.

PC Gamer

Is this addictive game made by just one person the best first-person shooter of the year?

Void/Breaker is a chaotic adrenaline rush.

Creative Bloq

"It was not 'one guy', look at the dang in-game credits": Balatro's Localthunk joins team size discourse after Geoff Keighley fumbled it at Summer Game Fest by saying Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was made by "under 30" people

For many reasons, no

GamesRadar

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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

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

Wildly successful Balatro publisher says more indie devs need funding "that isn't based on making a ridiculous amount of money back"

Balatro recently crossed 5 million units sold

GamesRadar

'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 was a pain in the ass to market," but it started getting better once players started cracking open the demo so they could play forever

Publisher Playstack "knew it was so good because we couldn't stop playing it internally"

GamesRadar

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.

PC Gamer

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PC Gamer

LocalThunk forbids AI-generated art on the Balatro subreddit: 'I think it does real harm to artists of all kinds'

A recent kerfuffle over AI art forced the Balatro creator to get involved.

GamesRadar

Balatro creator hits back at AI art spread on the roguelike's subreddit: "I don't use it in my game, I think it does real harm to artists of all kinds"

Localthunk lands on the anti side of the AI art fence

PC Gamer

The official Balatro Timeline documents the history of 2024's biggest game as its developer went from 'obsessed' with making it to 'shocked' at the reception

LocalThunk's detailed account of the creation of Balatro is remarkably entertaining.

Windows Central

"The numbers on that page made no sense." Balatro developer recalls his amazement at selling 50,000 copies of his game—which went on to sell 5 million

Balatro developer LocalThunk has documented his timeline of creating the indie hit that went on to sell 5 million. Not bad for a game he didn't think anyone would play.

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news in one place.

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PC Gamer

Legendary joker ports Balatro to the 44-millimeter screen of an Apple Watch, calls it 'Wee Balatro'

Jimbo would be proud. Or enraged. To tell the truth, I don't really have a handle on Jimbo yet.

Inverse

Cyberpunk 2077's Brilliant Indie Crossover Started With A Playful Meme

Cyberpunk 2077's crossover with Balatro started with a funny photoshop — and the rest is history.

PC Gamer

After dominating The Game Awards in 2023, Baldur's Gate 3 is in the running for even more gold in 2024

Astro Bot and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth lead The Game Awards 2024 nominations, but Larian's magnum opus is still in the fight.

PC Gamer

The Rise of the Golden Idol review

Solve a sprawling mystery in the point-and-click adventure sequel.

GamesRadar

The Rise of the Golden Idol review: "Finding new ways to stretch your little gray cells"

PC Gamer

Balatro adds new card backs from Stardew Valley, Cyberpunk 2077, Slay the Spire, and Binding of Isaac, and they're all free

Friends of Jimbo 2 is here.

PC Gamer

CD Projekt dev explains how Geralt ended up in Balatro, and the answer will shock you: CD Projekt devs really like Balatro

PR director Radek Grabowski says he turned a whole bunch of people onto the joys of Balatro, and "the rest is history."

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