Balatro PEGI Rating Lowered After Appealing & Is Now Available On Xbox Game Pass

Hit poker roguelike game Balatro just celebrated its first anniversary a few days ago. While developer Localthunk expressed gratitude for how this game connects people and brings joy to the community, which is formed by over 3.5 million supportive fans, a nuisance that he had been bothered with since last March was still haunting him — the PEGI 18+ rating that had resulted in the game being removed from a few storefronts, one that the developer believes not fair. 

Two months ago, he made an appeal to the foundation expressing continuous dissatisfaction. That effort has finally yielded fruit, as Localthunk just announced a victory in this 10-month-long war on X/Twitter — that PEGI has reclassified the rating to 12+, making the physical game with an 18+ rating on the cover a limited edition now. 

As someone who cares about the whole indie community, the developer believes this step is more meaningful to fellow developers. As he said, hopefully, "This change will allow developers to create without being unfairly punished."

Besides this exciting news, which will allow more audiences to join the Balatro community, there is even more great news to come. Without any prior tease, it's announced that the game is now available on Xbox Game Pass. 

Last but not least, the Friends of Jimbo 4 pack is also revealed. It includes new themed cards that collaborate with various games, including Civilization, Assassin's Creed Shadows, Slay the Princess, Dead by Daylight, Fallout, and more. Same as before, the pack is available for free to players across all platforms.  

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