Balatro creator started “properly playing the game myself about a week before launch” and had “a pretty emotional moment” where he realized it’s “actually fun”

Balatro’s various demos pre-launch were already hinting at a wildly moreish, inventive roguelike on the cards, but somehow, its creator LocalThunk only realized how damn fun it was just a week before launch.

In a retrospective timeline detailing how Balatro went from a prototype to 2024’s breakout indie game, LocalThunk revealed that the last few months of development were pretty gruelling. Dealing with a publisher, media attention, streamer hype, and evermore demo players who all had something to say was entirely new ground – and I can imagine, a very stressful experience.