The Game Census
Balatro cover art

Balatro

LocalThunk · Playstack · 2024-02-20

SteamPlayStation StoreMicrosoft StoreGame Pass

CasualIndieStrategy

Modes: Single player · Perspectives: Bird view / Isometric

Releases: Mar 01, 2024 (Mac), Feb 20, 2024 (Xbox One), Feb 20, 2024 (Xbox Series X|S), Feb 20, 2024 (PC (Microsoft Windows)), Feb 20, 2024 (PlayStation 5), Sep 26, 2024 (iOS)

The poker roguelike. Balatro is a hypnotically satisfying deckbuilder where you play illegal poker hands, discover game-changing jokers, and trigger adrenaline-pumping, outrageous combos.

Balatro is a Casual, Indie, and Strategy game released in 2024, priced at $11.99, with an Overwhelmingly Positive review sentiment (98% of 196640 reviews) and an owner estimate of 2,000,000 .. 5,000,000.

5,350
playing now
98%
positive of 200k reviews
Overwhelmingly Positive
steam's rating (official)
2,000,000–5,000,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
352
twitch viewers (latest)
88.0
viewers/channel (concentration)
91/100
critic score (5 outlets, IGDB)
86/100
IGDB user rating (383 ratings)
791
Nexus mods (1.2M downloads)
4.58★
PlayStation Store rating (20,938 ratings)
92/100
opencritic · mighty · 100% recommend · from 64 critics
46h
to beat · rushed 4.5h · completionist 175h
platinum
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
Verified
Steam Deck (Valve)
SteamOS: Playable
$11.99
steam price (US)

5,350 players in-game as of 2026-10-14 10:00 UTC (census sample)

Balatro is a 2024 poker-themed roguelike deck-building game developed by solo developer LocalThunk, and published by Playstack. It was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on February 20, 2024, with a port to macOS on March 1. Ports for Android and iOS were released on September 26, 2024. A dedicated Nintendo Switch 2 version was released on February 25, 2026. In the game, the player must score points by playing poker hands from a starting 52-card deck, with a limited number of hands and discards each round.

Trailer

Balatro trailer thumbnail

Balatro - Official Launch Trailer

≈153,055 YouTube results for this game's trailer search

Health check

Healthy
  • · 5,350 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 15,904 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~1,988/week).
  • · Review velocity down 38% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 1% of 28,906 Casual games in the census by review count.

Health tier since 2026-10-10

Tier history: thriving→healthy (Oct 10), healthy→thriving (Oct 9), thriving→healthy (Oct 8), healthy→thriving (Oct 7), thriving→healthy (Oct 1), healthy→thriving (Sep 29), thriving→healthy (Sep 26), healthy→thriving (Sep 22), thriving→healthy (Sep 20), healthy→thriving (Sep 15)

Estimated sales: 4.0M–9.0M copies

Review-multiple estimate from 199,947 total reviews — how this is computed.

Current store prices

Microsoft Store$14.99

Deal snapshots via CheapShark, refreshed daily.

All-time low: $10.15 at GameBillet (2026-07-13)via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $14.99 · on sale 56 of 121 observed days · $4.84 above the all-time low (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
22k22k20242026Week of 2024-02-01: 10,148 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 236 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 12,715 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 395 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 6,404 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 227 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 4,272 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 113 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 2,348 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 61 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 2,855 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 78 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 2,153 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 52 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 1,861 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 27 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 1,727 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 45 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 22,108 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 172 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 19,976 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 383 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 11,619 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 309 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 6,646 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 182 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 7,064 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 213 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 5,018 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 169 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 4,977 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 125 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 4,937 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 118 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 4,699 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 140 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 2,775 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 85 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 2,302 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 81 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 2,315 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 76 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 2,444 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 75 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 2,557 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 76 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 2,902 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 84 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 2,472 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 91 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 2,343 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 77 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 1,983 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 81 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 2,054 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 85 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 1,610 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 61 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 1,849 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 71 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 1,731 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 43 negativeWeek of 2026-09-01: 1,308 positiveWeek of 2026-09-01: 45 negativeWeek of 2026-10-01: 552 positiveWeek of 2026-10-01: 20 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

9.2k5.0k2026-09-14 19:00 — 8,603 players2026-09-15 09:00 — 5,193 players2026-09-15 18:00 — 8,202 players2026-09-16 03:00 — 7,254 players2026-09-16 12:00 — 6,084 players2026-09-16 21:00 — 7,900 players2026-09-17 06:00 — 5,261 players2026-09-17 15:00 — 7,944 players2026-09-18 00:00 — 7,128 players2026-09-18 09:00 — 5,424 players2026-09-18 18:00 — 8,263 players2026-09-19 03:00 — 7,722 players2026-09-19 12:00 — 6,785 players2026-09-19 21:00 — 8,483 players2026-09-22 02:00 — 7,730 players2026-09-22 11:00 — 5,685 players2026-09-22 20:00 — 8,385 players2026-09-23 05:00 — 5,875 players2026-09-23 14:00 — 7,326 players2026-09-23 23:00 — 7,092 players2026-09-24 08:00 — 5,047 players2026-09-24 17:00 — 8,082 players2026-09-25 02:00 — 7,624 players2026-09-25 11:00 — 5,844 players2026-09-25 20:00 — 8,265 players2026-09-28 15:00 — 7,914 players2026-09-29 09:00 — 5,231 players2026-09-29 18:00 — 8,011 players2026-09-30 03:00 — 7,075 players2026-09-30 12:00 — 5,967 players2026-09-30 21:00 — 7,767 players2026-10-03 21:00 — 8,579 players2026-10-07 05:00 — 6,412 players2026-10-07 14:00 — 8,254 players2026-10-07 23:00 — 7,344 players2026-10-09 07:00 — 5,637 players2026-10-09 16:00 — 8,714 players2026-10-10 01:00 — 7,350 players2026-10-14 10:00 — 5,350 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).
30k5.7kFeb 2024Aug 2026Feb 2024 — avg 26,890 · peak 35,018Mar 2024 — avg 26,392 · peak 37,737Apr 2024 — avg 18,940 · peak 31,218May 2024 — avg 12,597 · peak 20,970Jun 2024 — avg 8,321 · peak 12,182Jul 2024 — avg 7,941 · peak 12,306Aug 2024 — avg 6,451 · peak 9,037Sep 2024 — avg 6,036 · peak 8,727Oct 2024 — avg 5,733 · peak 8,843Nov 2024 — avg 8,481 · peak 20,026Dec 2024 — avg 21,351 · peak 40,494Jan 2025 — avg 29,741 · peak 43,825Feb 2025 — avg 22,261 · peak 33,878Mar 2025 — avg 19,594 · peak 28,598Apr 2025 — avg 16,765 · peak 23,125May 2025 — avg 16,040 · peak 22,561Jun 2025 — avg 14,507 · peak 21,495Jul 2025 — avg 12,802 · peak 18,377Aug 2025 — avg 10,466 · peak 14,466Sep 2025 — avg 9,237 · peak 13,578Oct 2025 — avg 9,064 · peak 13,011Nov 2025 — avg 8,650 · peak 12,161Dec 2025 — avg 8,890 · peak 13,243Jan 2026 — avg 10,241 · peak 14,895Feb 2026 — avg 10,248 · peak 13,846Mar 2026 — avg 8,586 · peak 12,382Apr 2026 — avg 8,156 · peak 11,516May 2026 — avg 8,027 · peak 11,550Jun 2026 — avg 6,998 · peak 9,277Jul 2026 — avg 7,498 · peak 9,514Aug 2026 — avg 7,756 · peak 10,017
Monthly average players (source: steamcharts.com) — history via steamcharts.com; live census sampling since Aug 2026.

Chart history

#51#1002026-09-152026-10-102026-09-15 — #512026-09-16 — #512026-09-17 — #512026-09-18 — #952026-09-19 — #952026-09-20 — #982026-09-22 — #962026-09-23 — #932026-09-24 — #922026-09-25 — #922026-09-26 — #932026-09-29 — #952026-09-30 — #952026-10-01 — #982026-10-07 — #992026-10-08 — #992026-10-09 — #1002026-10-10 — #100
Best Steam most-played rank per day (census top-100 snapshots).
PositiveNegative
75752026-09-162026-10-132026-09-16: 39 new positive2026-09-16: 4 new negative2026-09-17: 39 new positive2026-09-17: 2 new negative2026-09-18: 52 new positive2026-09-18: 1 new negative2026-09-19: 55 new positive2026-09-19: 1 new negative2026-09-20: 47 new positive2026-09-21: 46 new positive2026-09-21: 2 new negative2026-09-22: 75 new positive2026-09-22: 2 new negative2026-09-23: 38 new positive2026-09-24: 42 new positive2026-09-24: 1 new negative2026-09-25: 40 new positive2026-09-25: 1 new negative2026-09-26: 43 new positive2026-09-26: 1 new negative2026-09-27: 30 new positive2026-09-28: 42 new positive2026-09-29: 50 new positive2026-09-29: 2 new negative2026-09-30: 38 new positive2026-10-01: 47 new positive2026-10-02: 36 new positive2026-10-02: 1 new negative2026-10-03: 42 new positive2026-10-03: 1 new negative2026-10-04: 59 new positive2026-10-04: 4 new negative2026-10-05: 58 new positive2026-10-05: 6 new negative2026-10-07: 44 new positive2026-10-07: 7 new negative2026-10-09: 36 new positive2026-10-09: 3 new negative2026-10-10: 52 new positive2026-10-10: 2 new negative2026-10-11: 64 new positive2026-10-12: 49 new positive2026-10-13: 46 new positive
New Steam reviews per day (census review snapshots). Positive above the line, negative below.

Price history

$14.99$9.592024-02-162026-10-142024-02-16 — best price $14.992024-03-01 — best price $13.492024-04-13 — best price $13.412024-04-25 — best price $12.232024-05-11 — best price $12.492024-06-06 — best price $14.992024-07-04 — best price $14.992024-07-29 — best price $14.992024-08-15 — best price $12.492024-10-03 — best price $13.492024-11-24 — best price $13.422024-12-18 — best price $13.692025-01-14 — best price $11.492025-02-12 — best price $10.472025-03-10 — best price $14.992025-04-10 — best price $13.492025-05-19 — best price $13.492025-06-11 — best price $12.292025-07-10 — best price $10.482025-08-09 — best price $14.992025-08-29 — best price $13.492025-10-24 — best price $14.992025-11-29 — best price $13.492026-01-05 — best price $14.992026-02-17 — best price $10.742026-03-12 — best price $13.492026-04-04 — best price $14.992026-05-09 — best price $13.922026-05-28 — best price $14.992026-06-19 — best price $11.992026-07-12 — best price $11.992026-07-30 — best price $11.992026-08-15 — best price $14.992026-10-14 — best price $14.99
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Attention

9385612026-05-28 — 853 pageviews2026-06-01 — 930 pageviews2026-06-05 — 803 pageviews2026-06-09 — 750 pageviews2026-06-13 — 697 pageviews2026-06-17 — 702 pageviews2026-06-21 — 676 pageviews2026-06-25 — 622 pageviews2026-06-29 — 759 pageviews2026-07-03 — 623 pageviews2026-07-07 — 646 pageviews2026-07-11 — 873 pageviews2026-07-15 — 808 pageviews2026-07-19 — 669 pageviews2026-07-23 — 695 pageviews2026-07-27 — 822 pageviews2026-07-31 — 722 pageviews2026-08-04 — 660 pageviews2026-08-08 — 637 pageviews2026-08-12 — 744 pageviews2026-08-16 — 653 pageviews2026-08-20 — 667 pageviews2026-08-24 — 656 pageviews2026-08-28 — 693 pageviews2026-09-01 — 678 pageviews2026-09-05 — 616 pageviews2026-09-09 — 820 pageviews2026-09-13 — 873 pageviews2026-09-17 — 871 pageviews2026-09-21 — 770 pageviews2026-09-25 — 777 pageviews2026-09-29 — 742 pageviews2026-10-03 — 561 pageviews2026-10-07 — 680 pageviews
Daily Wikipedia pageviews (attention proxy, census-recorded).

Twitch viewers

3.9k102026-09-30 18:34 — 529 viewers2026-10-01 03:34 — 424 viewers2026-10-01 12:34 — 81 viewers2026-10-01 21:34 — 2,155 viewers2026-10-02 06:34 — 113 viewers2026-10-02 15:34 — 188 viewers2026-10-03 00:34 — 439 viewers2026-10-03 09:34 — 151 viewers2026-10-03 18:34 — 2,862 viewers2026-10-04 03:34 — 80 viewers2026-10-04 12:34 — 118 viewers2026-10-04 21:34 — 107 viewers2026-10-05 06:34 — 47 viewers2026-10-05 15:34 — 133 viewers2026-10-06 00:34 — 191 viewers2026-10-06 09:34 — 99 viewers2026-10-06 18:34 — 2,404 viewers2026-10-07 03:34 — 49 viewers2026-10-07 12:34 — 27 viewers2026-10-07 21:34 — 682 viewers2026-10-08 06:34 — 105 viewers2026-10-08 15:34 — 268 viewers2026-10-09 00:34 — 44 viewers2026-10-09 09:34 — 141 viewers2026-10-09 18:34 — 2,642 viewers2026-10-10 03:34 — 122 viewers2026-10-10 12:34 — 104 viewers2026-10-10 21:34 — 243 viewers2026-10-11 06:34 — 58 viewers2026-10-11 15:34 — 299 viewers2026-10-12 00:34 — 388 viewers2026-10-12 09:34 — 147 viewers2026-10-12 18:34 — 223 viewers2026-10-13 03:34 — 154 viewers2026-10-13 12:34 — 136 viewers2026-10-13 21:34 — 1,120 viewers2026-10-14 06:34 — 100 viewers2026-10-14 15:34 — 285 viewers2026-10-14 17:34 — 352 viewers
Hourly Twitch viewers (census snapshots).

Completion

31
achievements tracked
90%
earned "Ante Up!"
22.4%
median achievement earned by

Global achievement rates from Steam.

Details

WindowsmacOSFull controller supportSingle-playerSteam AchievementsFull controller supportSteam Trading CardsColor AlternativesCustom Volume ControlsMouse Only OptionPlayable without Timed InputDualSense Controller SupportDualSense Controller Support1 DLC

12 supported languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Dutch, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese - Brazil, Simplified Chinese, Spanish - Latin America, Traditional Chinese

Post-launch support: 1 DLC released, first 2024-02-20 (Steam store data)

Console footprint

PlatformPlayers trackedCompletionTrophies/achievements
Steam (Steam)90,3072%31
PS5 (PlayStation)31,0573%32
Xbox Series, Xbox One, Windows (Xbox)22,5481%31
PS4 (PlayStation)7,9464%32
Switch (Nintendo)2,7910%0
Switch 2 (Nintendo)9180%0
PS5 (PlayStation)3915%32

Players tracked by Exophase (achievement/trophy trackers) — a sample of the player base, not total sales.

Where its players are

Share of Steam reviews by language (top languages measured) — a proxy for where the player base lives.

Player tags

2DCasualStrategyCard GameDifficultRogue-likeRogue-liteTurn-BasedCard BattlerDeckbuilding

Census log

Computed from census-recorded observations only — dates are observation dates.

Recent updates

Players also track

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Similarity via IGDB.

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