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Balatro creator wins 18+ ratings battle with PEGI, accidentally producing limited edition copies: "I hope this change will allow developers to create without being unfairly punished"
A helpful PEGI rating is apparently even better than botox, as Balatro exudes youthfulness one year after its release. The deck builder would undoubtedly have a much more sickly aura had it not been for the European rating system's new decision to reclassify the deck builder as 12+ instead of 18+.
The change – which both PEGI and Balatro developer LocalThunk announced on February 24 – was precipitated by Balatro publisher Fireshine. At the end of 2024, LocalThunk expressed his frustration with PEGI's adult rating, saying the regulatory body was "sitting on their hands" after ignoring his initial complaint that Balatro doesn't legitimately feature gambling as PEGI suggested.
Now, the rating board admits in a press release "that, although [Balatro] explains the various hands of poker, the roguelike deck-building game contained mitigating fantastical elements that warranted a PEGI 12 rating."
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"PEGI strives to apply ratings criteria fairly, consistently, and transparently to ensure that audiences understand the type of content that is present in games," the board continues. It maintains "any teaching or glamorization" of virtual gambling automatically warrants an 18+ rating, but that it would also introduce additional age categories (like Balatro's 12+ classification) to more accurately evaluate "gambling themes."
"This is a good step from PEGI," LocalThunk says on Twitter. "Bringing nuance to their ratings criteria that used to be 18+ or nothing. I hope this change will allow developers to create without being unfairly punished."
At the very least, it will allow Balatro fans to enjoy their 18+ physical copies of Balatro, which have accidentally become limited editions overnight.
Ashley is a Senior Writer at GamesRadar+. She's been a staff writer at Kotaku and Inverse, too, and she's written freelance pieces about horror and women in games for sites like Rolling Stone, Vulture, IGN, and Polygon. When she's not covering gaming news, she's usually working on expanding her doll collection while watching Saw movies one through 11.
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