Balatro, the poker-themed rogue from solo developer LocalThunk that has been a huge critical and commercial success since its release last week, has been unexpectedly pulled from sale in some countries, with publisher Playstack blaming the problem on a surprise change in ratings.
Playstack addressed the issue in a extensive statement shared on social media, explaining that Balatro's temporary removal from console stores had so far only occurred in “some countries.” He admitted that he could not “estimate with complete confidence which stores” had been affected and added: “Our hope is that only a minority of stores will be affected.” He says that he remains “very confident” that Balatro will continue to be available on PC, including Steam.
The cause of all this frustration is an unexpected “overnight change” in Balatro's age rating, which went from 3+ to 18+. According to Playstack, this change is due to an unspecified rating board's “mistaken belief” that the game 'contains prominent images of gambling and materials that instruct about gambling.'”
Balatro – Launch Trailer | ROGUELIKE POKERWhile Playstack doesn't mention the ratings board by name in its statement, the publisher is almost certainly referring to Europe's PEGI. Balatro currently has a PEGI 18 rating on the xbox and games station digital stores, along with a warning that the game contains “prominent gambling imagery”, and no longer appears on Nintendo's UK e-store.
“Balatro does not allow or encourage gambling,” the publisher continues, “and we fundamentally believe that the ratings decision is unfounded. Balatro was developed by someone who is firmly against gambling, and there has been much “Take care to ensure that the game does not feature game mechanics of any kind.”
Playstack adds that it is “especially disappointed” given that it has already “specifically addressed this issue” with the ratings board, which agreed to rate the game as a 3+ following an appeal over its initial rating of 18+. When the appeal was successful, the classification board is said to have told the publisher: “We have reviewed your product and determined that disclosure of gambling themes was not justified.” Playstack highlights that no content has changed since then.
“We deeply regret that some fans cannot access [Balatro] this weekend,” the publisher continues, before assuring players that the game will eventually “be back on sale, possibly with a temporary 18+ rating, while we fix the issue.” We thank you for your patience and support; we are completely impressed by their passion and faith in Balatro.
Eurogamer's Christian Donlan had good things to say about Balatro's rogue turn at poker in his four-star review, calling it “So surprising and so brilliantly constructed, and something that has given me so much pleasure over the past week.” .
