Balatro creator initially considered a Steam release in part to help "get a game developer job somewhere," and after 5 million sales I'd say he found one

Balatro screenshot showing an assortment of card packs

(Image credit: Playstack)

Localthunk became somewhat of a big name in the games industry in 2024 thanks to the release of Balatro; joining the ranks of Vampire Survivors dev Luca Galente in the category of ‘indie game developers whose games have ruined my life by being so moreish’. But as it turns out, fame and making a name for themselves in the game development scene wasn’t on the solo-devs mind when making Balatro.

Following the recent one-year anniversary of Balatro’s release, Localthunk released the Balatro timeline diary, chronicling their work on the game from its inception back in December 2021, to release in February 2024. This diary has a ton of interesting tidbits within, like how the developer was shocked at the game’s high review scores. However, that modesty is a common theme in the diary, as Localthunk’s ambitions with Balatro were nothing more than a playable job application.

Following a two-month break in development on Balatro, Localthunk was teeming with momentum and a renewed interest in working on the game, which resulted in the developer saying it was "the first time in my then 8 years of game development that I had even considered publicly releasing a game I had made." Later adding, "Normally they just end up going to a couple of friends, but honestly the main purpose of my games wasn’t for them to be consumed, but rather for them just to be made."

However, even with the Steam release in the cards, Localthunk didn’t have any aspirations of Balatro going on to sell 5 million copies. In fact, it was mainly to help his future job prospects. "My partner was almost finished her PhD and the writing was on the wall that we may be moving out of province for good as she looked for a job. If this was the case, I would have to quit my job and look for work. I thought why not try and get a game developer job somewhere? To accomplish that, I thought having a Steam game in my portfolio would be a big benefit."

The developer later added, "I really didn’t have any commercial aspirations at this time. All I knew about Steam is that there were about a million games on there and that very few could realistically make a living, so I didn’t think it was possible to consider it." This was in May 2022, but as we know now, Balatro had enough lucky sevens in its deck to break through Steam’s endless barrage of horny shovelware and become the sensation it is now.

Balatro’s development wasn’t all plain sailing however, as the developer revealed that the stress of indie development took a toll on his health.