Balatro’s Solo Dev Didn’t Play Any Deckbuilders Before Creating It as “Figuring Out Design Issues Is Fun for Me”

Nowadays, most video games take inspiration from other games of the same genre. While working on a game of a particular genre, video game publishers play games of the same genre made by their competitors since it can help developers understand the core mechanics and their competitors’ strengths and weaknesses. Many developers use this approach, however, there is one particular developer $2 million dived straight into the development process without playing games made by competitors.

2024’s Balatro, a poker-themed roguelike deck-building video game, was made by solo developer LocalThunk. It has emerged as one of the most entertaining games of 2024, selling over 2 million copies by August 2024. Earlier this year, LocalThunk explained that they didn’t play any roguelike deck-building games before working on Balatro, which they believe is the reason behind its success.

Solo Developer LocalThunk Never Played Any Roguelike Deck-Building Game Before Creating Balatro

In February 2024, the solo developer of 2024’s Balatro, LocalThunk, appeared for an interview with GamesRadar to talk about their highly popular game. During the conversation, the developer revealed that they only played one roguelike deck-builder and that was also after they designed Balatro,

That’s part of the reason why [Balatro] has succeeded – I only played Slay the Spire last May because I wanted to understand what they did with [gamepad] controls. If I’d played that game before designing this one, it would have infiltrated the design quite a bit. I didn’t want to subconsciously take design elements from those games – and then suddenly mine is less original – I thought it’d be more fun to try myself, not as a retail thing, not ‘this is the correct thing for the game to sell the best.’ Figuring out design issues is fun for me.

LocalThunk was eager to create something fresh and by playing other roguelike deckbuilders, they were certain they would subconsciously pick up design elements. The developer is certain that this approach is the reason behind Balatro’s success and it is true, players love the game and it has been selling like hotcakes.

The game LocalThunk played to understand some controls, Slay the Spire, played a key role in popularising roguelike deck-building video games. The game was nominated for multiple awards in 2019 and 2020.

Balatro Is One Of The Most Successful Games Of 2024

LocalThunk spent two-and-a-half years working on Balatro but all that hard work paid off as the game has received exceptional ratings from critics. Fans and streamers love the unique concept of the game and what makes it all so special is the fact that there was no marketing for Balatro. The pure hard work of LocalThunk has made Balatro so successful.

The game’s publisher, Playstack, revealed that within eight hours of release, the game had made over $1 million in gross revenue. Over 250,000 copies were sold in the first three days, making it Playstack’s fastest-selling game. The game is available on Android, iOS, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.