LocalThunk, developer of card-based roguelike Balatro, has challenged PEGI on the game’s 18+ rating after the regulatory body cited it for “gambling.” Unfortunately, their pleas fell on deaf ears, and Balatro’s rating will not be lowered.
“Talked with PEGI and they do not see anything wrong [with] Balatro being rated 18+, nor with EA Sports FC (and similar games) having a 3+ rating,” LocalThunk shares on Twitter. Balatro is a card game that features no active gambling premise, lootbox, or other microtransactional content, but PEGI is “blaming EU laws” and “storefronts” as the key, binding reason for its decision. “[They’re] sitting on their hands. I thought some good might come of this, this sucks.”
It’s a miserable situation for LocalThunk, whose game ironically shines a pretty wholesome light on card gaming that does away with the gambling-minded symbolism usually applied to poker. Understandably, LocalThunk has drawn contrast here and in the past to EA Sports FC’s randomized lootboxes, which serve the basic function of a blind goodybag to be purchased over and over again as players search for specific items.
The developer might not have succeeded in changing PEGI’s mind right now, but that doesn’t take away from the clean sweep of awards Balatro has netted over the last weeks at The Game Awards and Golden Joysticks alike, proving that LocalThunk has the support of a now passionate fanbase rooting for them despite regulatory decrees. Looks like this bet paid off after all.
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