Mobile sales data indicates Balatro enjoyed a noteworthy surge of players thanks to picking up five nominations at The Game Awards, PocketGamer.biz reports.
Balatro, an addictive, poker-themed roguelike, landed on iOS and Android devices on Sep. 26 and made nearly $1 million in its first week, according to AppMagic estimates, matching the breakout success of the PC debut earlier this year. Revenue naturally dropped off due to developer LocalThunk avoiding the “predatory monetization” common in mobile games, only to soar once again and make $727,000 in a week (surpassing $4 million total) after The Game Awards announced its nominations on Nov. 18, again according to AppMagic estimates.
Publisher Playstack wasn’t able to comment on sales numbers, but told Polygon via email that Balatro’s daily active players are seeing a “significant spike” since the news broke. “It’s been lovely to see the conversations happening around the game and we’re honestly just happy to be part of it all!” a rep said.
Balatro is in contention for Game of the Year at The Game Awards — facing off against Astro Bot, Black Myth: Wukong, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and Metaphor: ReFantazaio. It’s also up for Best Game Direction, Best Mobile Game, Best Independent Game, and Best Debut Indie.
“The more time goes on the more I feel like I just happened to stumble into winning the game developer lottery,” LocalThunk told Polygon when the nominations were revealed. “I’d like to think the game has appeal but I feel that appeal pales in comparison to the incredible other nominees.”
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