Localthunk calling out PEGI. Utterly farcical and this isn’t spoken about enough.
Thursday, 13 Mar 2025
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For anyone asking for context I’ll just copy and paste from Wikipedia.
“Shortly after the game’s release, Balatro’s PEGI rating was changed from 3+ to 18+ for “prominent gambling imagery” due to PEGI’s strict rules on portraying gambling, causing the game to be removed from sale in certain territories. Publisher Playstack stated that they had discussed the game’s content with PEGI prior to release (causing its initial 18+ rating to be lowered to 3+) and that, while being based on poker, the game does not portray any form of gambling, and intended to appeal the re-rating.”
Wikipedia’s source: https://www.eurogamer.net/rogue-like-poker-hit-balatro-pulled-from-sale-in-some-countries-due-to-unexpected-ratings-change
For the people who don’t understand the post: He is the developer of Balatro. In some countries the game got 18+ rating because Poker is often associated with gambling.
Balatro has nothing to do with gambling, unlike games where people can buy lootboxes and such for real money…
Context : Localthunk is the developer of Balatro.
Are you kidding me? They gave Balatro an 18+ rating? What a joke
It is absurd that Balatro is rated 18+ for having a poker theme. At least in the US a child can walk into a store and buy playing cards and even poker chips with no age restriction. They’re not allowed to gamble with real money, but Balatro doesn’t allow that either.
Many games rated below 18+ have themes of violence or other criminal acts.
So a child can play poker (just not for real money) and buy poker stuff, and a child can buy games about actual criminal activities, but a child can’t buy a game with no gambling that doesn’t even teach you how to play poker because…I don’t even think they know except that they have a general aversion to gambling.
To top it all off, there are games that contain poker minigames that are rated under 18+ so it’s not even consistent in its irrationality!
This is funny.
The game, that has a rating of “All Ages” in GERMANY – *the land notorious for overly controlling video games and censoring* – is getting an 18+ from PEGI?
That is something not on my bingo card.
That’s crazy. Balatro is a math game. An order of operations game. A card engine game. Kids who play Balatro risk getting smarter, that’s about it.
In this day and age of sports gambling ads being blasted in my face 24/7 no matter where I look, it’s ridiculous that a video game with no real gambling is being scrutinized.
The ESRB and PEGI have been a joke for decades.
The double standard is actually crazy
I will say although Balatro’s rating is arguably incorrect, the real issue here is how EA Sports FC and similar lootbox games aren’t 18+.
TIL new super Mario bros for the DS should’ve been rated PEGI 18+ since it had a poker minigame that actually had a betting system if I remember correctly
Sorry, but who is he ?
The funny thing is Balatro doesn’t even encourage gambling that much, compared to other poker games, due to the way the in-game currency works.
Because of its Rogue-like nature you have to plan out what cards to spend on to be better in between rounds. You can’t be all spendy or you won’t have the money for what you need.
This is the lightest poker game I’ve ever played. You don’t even have a true opponent to beat, you just have to get the hands and beat the high score.
Fucking insane this how he is being treated and yet kids are allowed to gamble with real money in other games.
Just hearing about this makes me want to see what Balatro is all about. Hope it works out for them soon.
If I have a child, and they like videogames, I will never let them get loot boxes, or games from shitty companies unless they’re on a 90%+ discount.
Gotta teach them to have standards.
Similar issue popped up for Pokémon games. The slot machines/Game Corner (that use fake currency in the game) got the game a higher rating when they changed rating rules, so future games had the area retired and removed on any remakes for the game.
IIRC the re-releases just disabled them. Bizarre logic as per this tweet, real gambling, totally ok.
Have to completely agree with him. Real gambling is like mobile games with their microtransactions for a lootbox you never know what you’re going to get in it, sort of like, you know, gambling. Especially those gacha games like Galaxy of Heroes or Strike Force. Where’s there 18+?
It got a 0 in Germany. And I thought we were strict af. I guess not.
They’re absolutely right. Every game that has loot boxes for real money or uses currency that can be purchased for real money should be 18+. If just the IMAGE of perceived gambling makes it adult content then actual loot box gambling should be the same.
This has the same energy as my father judging me for playing card games that don’t bet anything with other family, and then him frequently buying lottery tickets.
What are evil playing cards
Just for that, he should make a Sex DLC.
This should’ve been handled years ago. Games like FIFA/FC or NBA2K (which is essentially a casino simulator with basketball minigames) should have the gambling mechanics banned or ratings raised to 18+ (and banned from sales in countries where gambling is forbidden).
Does the game have a direct competitor? Or was PEGI flooded with disgruntled parents al of a sudden?
Balatro getting 18+ is completely ridiculous it’s an embarrassment to the systems and organizations doing game ratings in those countries
My favorite pegi 18+ video game, Super Mario 64 DS featuring Blackjack and Poker at Luigi’s casino.
There’s no fuckin *gambling*, when there’s no fuckin *money* involved, it’s like making solitaire 18+ because there’s cards, there’s nothing available in the game even bet on
Meanwhile, there’s a thousand gacha games and fortnite exists, alright
This is a controversial move, but it’s definitely getting attention.
Meanwhile games like throne and liberty basically actually do have irl gambling in it because there auction house is set around a irl currency you have to buy..but balatro shame on you smh
What an absolute legend.
He also selflessly promotes all other indi games with his award speech at TGA last week.
What’s especially funny us that playing cards irl don’t even imply gambling. Grew up playing War, Solitaire, and Cribbage without gambling a cent
But hey lets have games that kids play constantly be filled with ACTUAL MOTHERFUCKING GAMBLING be +3, that’ll show em!
100% agree.
Other games barely even disguise their predatory practices.
Balatro is based on poker, but I’m not rushing to grab my wallet (for the chance) to get better jokers whenever I play.
Maybe I’m just utterly conditioned to think the mobile space is nothing but microtransactions and spammy ads. Are you telling me that Balatro is a standalone mobile game with none of that shit?
PEGI has decided that video games for children shouldn’t encourage or teach real gambling games to minors. That doesn’t seem that outrageous to me.
Truth has been spoken
This is exactly like the issue with pinball being illegal in NYC.
The government thought pinball was a gambling game run by the mob. But a pinball wizard demonstrated before city council how it is in fact a game of skill, overturning the ban.
There’s a good video about it [here](https://youtu.be/JhlqY8rsuhM?si=tH9KQGhQFPXCXpSX).
Uh… so the point of balatro is to break the game of poker by altering or making up rules to help you win. Which is something you cannot do in a real casino. Is the logic supposed to be that introducing young people to the pseudomechanics of chaos poker with no real risk involved is somehow immoral?
haha right
The 18+ rating is justified, EA having a gambling system that isn’t rated 18+ is the injustice and I agree that there needs to be consistency in the industry.
So would things be different of Balatro used “onions” instead of “dollars” as currency? What a stupid thing.
Add anime titties.