PCGame

Balatro

Poker-inspired roguelike deckbuilder built around scoring synergies and escalating blinds

LocalThunk · Published by Playstack · Released Feb 20, 2024

CasualIndieStrategy

Reviews
Overwhelmingly Positive
98% of 168K
Recent reviews
Overwhelmingly Positive
96% of 1,381 in 30 days
Players
5,783
daily peak, Nov 7, 2026
Steam Deck
Verified
Last update on Steam
1 year ago
Feb 24, 2025
Minimum PC
OpenGL 2.1 compatible
1 GB RAM · 0.2 GB disk
Full requirements

Metacritic: 90/100 (critic reviews)

What is Balatro?

A single-player roguelike deckbuilder where you play poker hands to score chips and defeat increasingly difficult blinds. During each run, you combine Jokers, card upgrades, and other modifiers to create scoring strategies and reach the final ante.

For you if...

  • +you enjoy repeatable runs built around card synergies
  • +you like experimenting with poker hands and unusual modifiers
  • +you want turn-based strategy designed for solo play

Not for you if...

  • −you dislike runs heavily shaped by random upgrades
  • −you want a traditional poker simulation
  • −you expect higher difficulties to minimize randomness

What players say

98% of 168,003 reviews are positive · 96% of 1,381 in the last 30 days

Players praise the card synergies, replay value, music, and sound design. The most common complaint is that higher difficulties and challenge runs depend too heavily on random shops and upgrades, making some losses feel outside the player's control.

Players over time

▼ -28% vs a month ago

Players online on Steam, one sample a day.

Highest since Sep 2026: 8,245 players on Sep 21, 2026.

Show the data
DayPlayers
Nov 7, 20265,783
Nov 6, 20265,056
Nov 5, 20264,951
Nov 4, 20265,346
Nov 3, 20265,636
Nov 2, 20265,436
Nov 1, 20266,171
Oct 31, 20265,852
Oct 30, 20265,311
Oct 29, 20265,204
Oct 28, 20265,332
Oct 27, 20267,155
Oct 26, 20266,679
Oct 25, 20267,102
Oct 24, 20267,200
Oct 23, 20267,197
Oct 22, 20267,152
Oct 21, 20267,087
Oct 20, 20267,484
Oct 18, 20267,379
Oct 17, 20267,491
Oct 16, 20267,265
Oct 15, 20267,416
Oct 14, 20267,187
Oct 13, 20267,617
Oct 11, 20267,938
Oct 10, 20267,724
Oct 9, 20267,766
Oct 8, 20267,613
Oct 7, 20267,508
Oct 6, 20267,727
Oct 4, 20267,870
Oct 3, 20267,713
Oct 2, 20267,238
Oct 1, 20267,318
Sep 30, 20267,348
Sep 29, 20267,582
Sep 27, 20267,623
Sep 26, 20267,522
Sep 25, 20267,612
Sep 24, 20267,552
Sep 23, 20265,322
Sep 23, 20267,385
Sep 22, 20267,521
Sep 21, 20268,245

Screenshots and trailer

Balatro screenshot 1

Balatro system requirements

Minimum: OpenGL 2.1 compatible, 1 GB RAM, 0.2 GB of disk space.

As published by the developer.

Can my PC run Balatro?

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Minimum

OS
Windows 7, 8, 10, 11 x64
Processor
Intel Core i3
Graphics
OpenGL 2.1 compatible graphics card, integrated graphics
Memory
1 GB RAM
Storage
150 MB available space

Recommended

Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system

Does Balatro have co-op or multiplayer?

No: single-player only, no multiplayer modes declared.

Does Balatro run on Steam Deck?

Verified Yes, Verified by Valve: it works on Steam Deck out of the box.

  • All functionality is accessible with the default controller configuration
  • Shows Steam Deck controller icons
  • In-game text is legible on Steam Deck
  • Default graphics settings perform well on Steam Deck

PC version details

DRM
None declared on Steam
Controller
Full controller support
Platforms
Windows, macOS
Achievements
31
Steam features
Cloud saves, Family Sharing, Trading cards
Languages
Text only: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Dutch, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese - Brazil, Simplified Chinese, Spanish - Latin America, Traditional Chinese.

Does Balatro use AI-generated content?

No AI-generated content is disclosed on the game's Steam page.

Self-reported by the developer under Steam rules: it covers AI content that ships in the game, not tools used to make it. Steam page checked on Nov 6, 2026. How to filter AI games on Steam

Tags

Recent updates

1 DLC available.

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