Balatro, the award-winning poker roguelike from solo developer LocalThunk, won’t be getting its 1.1 update this year after all. In an earnest, honest update posted to his official website, the developer explains his decision to postpone the long-awaited launch and opt for a “slow and steady” approach. The personal post, titled “I’m Slow,” points a finger at post-release burnout. As a means to mitigate his own daunting, deadline-laden workload, LocalThunk says he “took a break from everything to do with the game for a few months until the start of 2025.”
The Balatro developer explains that “[he’s] a hobbyist developer at heart and [he loves] to tinker,” and while fans of the indie deckbuilder might be disappointed by the wait, it’s imperative to remember that it was LocalThunk’s deliberate, passion-driven approach that made the base game so great in the first place.
“I took a break from everything to do with the game for a few months until the start of 2025 when I very slowly eased myself back into the work. However, I chose to only work on the game like I did when the project began, as a hobbyist (a few hours per day, and not always on the 1.1 update), and it turns out that it’s a lot slower than working in crunch mode 12 hours per day like I was around launch.
“I still love drawing my silly jokers, I carry around a notebook that is now teeming with ideas to implement or test in the game, and thankfully I still consider this my hobby, but the prospect of rushing the work and going back into crunch mode to get it out this year just felt terrible.”
Balatro, a critical and commercial triumph, swept industry awards shows and topped countless “Best of 2024” write-ups. The pixel-art indie project collected accolades like Jokers, including The Golden Joystick Award for “Best Indie Game” and The Game Awards’ “Best Independent Game” prize. Balatro currently holds an aggregated Metacritic review score of 90 as well as the site’s “Must-Play” distinction.
LocalThunk closes his letter to fans with a promise that the update is coming, but only when he’s ready. “I posted a few months ago that I finally got 100% of the achievements in Balatro, and for a bit of reassurance, the Balatro player in me will absolutely not allow me walk away from developing this game. I’m already super excited to try and 100% the game all over again from a second profile when 1.1 is ready. Rest assured, it will happen.”
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