Despite single-handedly making one of the most successful indie games of 2024 and selling more than five million copies, the creator of roguelike poker sensation Balatro hasn't let success change his lifestyle much.
Talking to Bloomberg, the solo developer who goes by LocalThunk revealed he's been able to quit his job in IT and buy a house with his partner thanks to the success of Balatro, but, otherwise LocalThunk's life has been relatively unaffected by his newfound wealth.
"It's been a lot of stress, but very fulfilling, being able to walk on something that I love all day, every day, as long as I want," LocalThunk said. "We'd been living below our means anyway when I had that IT job, so our lifestyle hasn't changed all that much. I travel a little more so I can visit friends. I'm just trying to be responsible right now with anything. I still have a job to do."
Without a day job keeping him preoccupied, LocalThunk is able to dedicate his work day to making updates for Balatro. In the same Bloomberg interview, he revealed he's working on Balatro update 1.1, which will add new Jokers and a revamp of the confusing Matador Joker. That, he hopes, will be out sometime this year.
As for what's next for LocalThunk post-Balatro, he's not quite there yet, telling Bloomberg he gets "obsessed with something for a long time." Although he admitted he's had ideas for other games, he said, every time his mind goes to new games, he thinks, "'you can't do that right now, you're in the middle of something else.'"
After an unbeatable year for Balatro, we asked a professional poker player to break down what makes the indie roguelike so good.
