Balatro is yet again facing scrutiny over its tangential gambling-related themes, this time from YouTube. Videos featuring Balatro are being hit with age restrictions on YouTube, brewing backlash from creators and developer LocalThunk alike.
While Balatro is no doubt one of the most influential games to have debuted in recent years, the Game of the Year-nominated deck-building roguelike has been no stranger to controversy since its February 2024 launch. Balatro initially received an 18+ rating in Europe from PEGI due to the game's perceived ties to gambling, which is understandably a big no-no these days. After criticizing the decision several times, LocalThunk successfully appealed PEGI's ruling and ultimately got Balatro to a 12+ rating in Europe.
A recent interview reveals the real reason why Balatro's creator LocalThunk has decided to remain anonymous despite the game's huge success.
The crux of LocalThunk's argument was that while Balatro draws inspiration from poker mechanics, the game lacks full-blown gambling features or the ability to wager real money, thereby nullifying any and all potential stakes. Now, this argument is being brought up again after YouTube updated its content guidelines on March 19 to impose age limits on videos that depict...
