Balatro, the indie poker-inspired roguelike, has generated nearly $4.4 million on mobile alone since its release in September.
This is according to data from AppMagic (thanks PocketGamer.biz), which reveals that the mobile game earned a million dollars in its first week on the App Store and Google Play.
Balatro was first released in February for PC and consoles, but its popularity increased after its release on mobile platforms.
What’s particularly interesting is its release as a premium game for £9.99 upfront, unlike so many free-to-play (with microtransactions) mobile games.
Balatro is also part of Apple Arcade, meaning even more players have played through Apple’s subscription, although it’s unclear how much money its inclusion here has generated.
On the day of release, Balatro earned $162,000 and then peaked at $200,000 the week after release on September 29, resulting in that $1 million in the first week.
Sales have since declined, but its inclusion as a game of the Year nominee (among others) at this year’s The game Awards has led to a resurgence in sales in recent weeks. This resulted in the game‘s second highest-earning week to date, generating $727k.
Developer Localthunk confirmed on reddit ahead of Balatro’s mobile launch that it would have no microtransactions or “predatory monetization.”
The developer also spoke, in March, about the game‘s rating drama after it was pulled from sale in some countries due to a “mistaken belief that the game ‘contains prominent images of gambling and materials that instruct about the games of chance'”. Said Localthunk: “I still believe the rating is unwarranted, but there is a gray area for PEGI’s interpretation and at this point it is what it is.”
