Balatro creator blasts 18+ rating & says EA FC deserves the same for “gambling”

Balatro developer LocalThunk called out PEGI for not rating EA FC 18+ because of its microtransactions, loot boxes, and gambling mechanics.

Balatro is a roguelike deck-building game that puts a spin on traditional poker. Players use illegal poker hands to earn chips and defeat enemy blinds. Despite poker inherently revolving around gambling, the title does not feature any microtransactions or any pay-to-win mechanics.

That wasn’t enough to avoid controversy. In March 2024, Balatro was temporarily removed from digital stores because of a reaction to an overnight change to the title’s age rating from 3+ to 18+. LocalThunk labeled the decision as a “mistaken belief” that the game displays “gambling imagery and material that instructs about gambling.”

The development team stated, “Balatro was developed by someone who is staunchly anti-gambling, and painstaking care has been taken to ensure that the game does not feature gambling mechanics of any kind.”

PEGI also gave Balatro an 18+ rating for “prominent gambling imagery” and LocalThunk responded, “Since PEGI gave us an 18+ rating for having evil playing cards, maybe I should add microtransactions/loot boxes/real gambling to lower that rating to 3+ like EA sports FC.”

Balatro creator says EA FC should be rated 18+ as well

Microtransactions have been a hot-button issue for EA and the FC franchise for years. In 2022 and 2023, the UK Government attempted to crack down on loot boxes in video games with little results.

EA FC Ultimate Team, in particular, is still plagued by pay-to-win mechanics that allow players to spend money on packs to acquire the game mode’s best cards.

LocalThunk clarified, “I’m way more irked at the 3+ for these games with actual gambling mechanics for children than I am about Balatro having an 18+ rating. If these other games were rated properly I’d happily accept the weirdo 18+.”

Fortunately for LocalThunk and the rest of the development team, the 18+ age rating has yet to get in the way of a remarkable success story. In less than a year since launching, the title surpassed 3.5 million copies sold and was nominated for several awards at the 2024 Game Awards, including Game of the Year.